Parenting, Pregnancy, Small Towns, Destitution...
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
On rotting teeth:
It's been high time we break our toddler of his apple juice addiction.
It wasn't hard to do...but it took me so long to put my foot down on the matter because 1) of my fear of incurring the wrath of my toddler (his wrath ain't a pretty thing); 2) the fear of causing him dehydration, especially now during the summertime. His lips were dry the first couple of days, but before long he began to see that water can be quite a satisfying treat to a thirsty body. What amazes me most about this whole drama was my steadfastness through it all. Not typical of me.
The grandest thing that has come from this is that we've ended his tooth decay. Yes, we are those stupid parents you wonder who would do such a thing to a child as to cause their teeth to rot. Well I've seen those horrible pictures at the dentist's office too, and I've thought the same thing. "What kind of loser, neglectful parents would let their kids' teeth rot?!"
Well now I know what it's like to be one of those loser parents. Over the past two years I've had nightmares and daymares about what's going on in my son's mouth, but I hadn't been strong enough to take away the goodies and securities that make his world go 'round. We didn't get him off the bottle until he was well past 2...and somewhere during the course of his bottle days my genious husband put juice in his bottle.
HELLO!!!! JUICE IN A BABY BOTTLE IS THE BIGGEST NO-NO, YOU IDIOT!!!!!! But once my son got a taste of juice he never turned back. Getting him on a sippy cup was a whole other misadventure...more screaming throughout the nights, tantrums throughout the days. "BOBBY!" he called his bottle, screaming at the top of his lungs. So glad those days are over. So I'm writing this down now that the ugliness is in the past (knock on wood). I couldn't bring myself to discuss this before. So he drinks water now. It's my personal favorite beverage, and now it's his too.
Our next child will be raised perfectly. We won't make a single mistake. (Snort.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Loving this town we live in.
Sort of. It's the kind of town where people wave to each other as they pass by, whether it be on foot or in cars. A slow, quiet town. The population can't be over 1000. I'd be surprised if it was. This town is 10 miles from civilization, and another 20 miles from real civilization. No ATM machines here, nope. Julst cows, dogs, horses. Clear, starry nights.
We fell asleep with the curtains open last night, so I'm awake now at 3am because I dreamily rolled over to be treated to the sight of a crescent moon and brilliant stars. You just don't see that sort of thing in cities. This is far from city life. I love it.
But yes, I admit I hate being 20 miles away from a grocery store. And having only one car between my husband & me.
Today (OK yesterday) I did a rare thing on my way to pick up hubby from work: I turned on the radio. I was pleased because for a change a great song came on, followed by another. I so rarely listen to music anymore because 1) I've tired of listening to the songs that I once enjoyed due to overplay; 2) my moods are so sensitive that if I hear a song that rubs me even slightly the wrong way it can send me into a tailspin of insanity. Such is life in my head.
But today the music hit the right spot; it had been a tiring day full of mundane work and not enough fun...so when this song came on I accidentally blew my son away in the back seat cause the speakers were adjusted to him...but he loved it! He started beebopping and smiling so happily, and I did too. We played and danced with each other through the rear view mirror (as much dancing and playing as one can do whilst strapped in the car) and our smiles turned into laughter. OK, the best part is combining this drive with being out on the open country road. We opened up to 70 mph and didn't even realize it. No cars in our way. Nope. Can't drive like that in Southern California, that's for sure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On being pregnant:
I just saw the doctor 4 days ago. Things are going peachy. The baby's heartbeat was 156 bpm. No word on when my next ultrasound will be. I've gained 15 pounds since this all started in February. I'm up to 130 and feeling like a roley poley potato. With my olive complexion and brown hair I think it's fair to compare myself to a potato. I'm a big brown ball. I keep telling myself that I'm going to do some butt exercises because there's NO REASON my butt should be getting bigger during pregnancy. I used to pride myself for being able to fit in my son's toddler chairs with armrests. It's becoming a tight squeeze lately....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And finally, a complaint that's turned into a "Thank You."
On being utterly broke:
My husband encountered an interesting turn of paycheck events recently. The Air Force decided to recoupe $2000 they recently entitled us to. Only after making sure that the money was indeed a true entitlement, we spent it. A month after it was spent, the Air Force says, "Hey, sorry, we were wrong. We need that back."
Long story short, we're currently living on monetary fumes. They're taking $500 out of each of our next 4 paychecks. Ramen noodles have become my favorite meal. Our travel is limited to anything between my husband's work and back. That means no grocery stores past 7pm (only the far-away grocery stores are open past 7), and even if we could go to the grocery store there's not much we can buy, even if starving. Thankfully we haven't hit the point of starving yet, but we have thought about attacking our emergency supply of MRE's in the basement. But we won't. Those are reserved for an all-out worldwide calamity. Not quite there yet.
In the past with a constant flow of paychecks, how could we help but feel the need to spend, spend, spend? We're not disciplined when it comes to money. We are incapable of saving because money burns a hole in our pockets & in our minds. Just hafta spend it! So we've got a house full of odd goodies.
So in our current state we've gained a refreshed appreciation for all the things we already have. Toys, books, and there's always the library which we've hit a few times. And today I resorted to going through our moving boxes in the basement to find some more long-lost goodies that we still haven't unpacked. Rummaging through those boxes feels like Christmas morning! And of course going to the parks on these gorgeous summer days has been a familiar pastime lately.
It feels good NOT to have money because it makes me appreciate things more. It's making us reprioritize our needs. So when we get the money back again we'll spend it on precisely what we need, and hopefully nothing more. And perhaps save some. That will take some serious discipline. Perhaps we'll stash some into an untouchable savings plan somewhere. Or maybe not. Hehe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One thing we're looking forward to spending money on is my son's up-and-coming preschool tuition. YAY PRESCHOOL! Yup, in August my little boy, barring any potty training mishaps, will be a student.
Oh boy is he ready for this. He needs friends. He needs structure. He's already at a kindergarten level as far as academics are concerned (I'd like to think so anyway). But now it's time for him to get a life. The good news is their open parent policy...I can accompany him to preschool any time I like! (Plus I'll be able to sneak in some last minute potty training so they hopefully won't expel him for his deficiencies). And a bus will pick him / us up at our front door every single day! How awesome is that?
That reminds me, with a sleeping child, I finally have a moment to fill out the preschool paperwork. 4am and signing off...
It's been high time we break our toddler of his apple juice addiction.
It wasn't hard to do...but it took me so long to put my foot down on the matter because 1) of my fear of incurring the wrath of my toddler (his wrath ain't a pretty thing); 2) the fear of causing him dehydration, especially now during the summertime. His lips were dry the first couple of days, but before long he began to see that water can be quite a satisfying treat to a thirsty body. What amazes me most about this whole drama was my steadfastness through it all. Not typical of me.
The grandest thing that has come from this is that we've ended his tooth decay. Yes, we are those stupid parents you wonder who would do such a thing to a child as to cause their teeth to rot. Well I've seen those horrible pictures at the dentist's office too, and I've thought the same thing. "What kind of loser, neglectful parents would let their kids' teeth rot?!"
Well now I know what it's like to be one of those loser parents. Over the past two years I've had nightmares and daymares about what's going on in my son's mouth, but I hadn't been strong enough to take away the goodies and securities that make his world go 'round. We didn't get him off the bottle until he was well past 2...and somewhere during the course of his bottle days my genious husband put juice in his bottle.
HELLO!!!! JUICE IN A BABY BOTTLE IS THE BIGGEST NO-NO, YOU IDIOT!!!!!! But once my son got a taste of juice he never turned back. Getting him on a sippy cup was a whole other misadventure...more screaming throughout the nights, tantrums throughout the days. "BOBBY!" he called his bottle, screaming at the top of his lungs. So glad those days are over. So I'm writing this down now that the ugliness is in the past (knock on wood). I couldn't bring myself to discuss this before. So he drinks water now. It's my personal favorite beverage, and now it's his too.
Our next child will be raised perfectly. We won't make a single mistake. (Snort.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Loving this town we live in.
Sort of. It's the kind of town where people wave to each other as they pass by, whether it be on foot or in cars. A slow, quiet town. The population can't be over 1000. I'd be surprised if it was. This town is 10 miles from civilization, and another 20 miles from real civilization. No ATM machines here, nope. Julst cows, dogs, horses. Clear, starry nights.
We fell asleep with the curtains open last night, so I'm awake now at 3am because I dreamily rolled over to be treated to the sight of a crescent moon and brilliant stars. You just don't see that sort of thing in cities. This is far from city life. I love it.
But yes, I admit I hate being 20 miles away from a grocery store. And having only one car between my husband & me.
Today (OK yesterday) I did a rare thing on my way to pick up hubby from work: I turned on the radio. I was pleased because for a change a great song came on, followed by another. I so rarely listen to music anymore because 1) I've tired of listening to the songs that I once enjoyed due to overplay; 2) my moods are so sensitive that if I hear a song that rubs me even slightly the wrong way it can send me into a tailspin of insanity. Such is life in my head.
But today the music hit the right spot; it had been a tiring day full of mundane work and not enough fun...so when this song came on I accidentally blew my son away in the back seat cause the speakers were adjusted to him...but he loved it! He started beebopping and smiling so happily, and I did too. We played and danced with each other through the rear view mirror (as much dancing and playing as one can do whilst strapped in the car) and our smiles turned into laughter. OK, the best part is combining this drive with being out on the open country road. We opened up to 70 mph and didn't even realize it. No cars in our way. Nope. Can't drive like that in Southern California, that's for sure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On being pregnant:
I just saw the doctor 4 days ago. Things are going peachy. The baby's heartbeat was 156 bpm. No word on when my next ultrasound will be. I've gained 15 pounds since this all started in February. I'm up to 130 and feeling like a roley poley potato. With my olive complexion and brown hair I think it's fair to compare myself to a potato. I'm a big brown ball. I keep telling myself that I'm going to do some butt exercises because there's NO REASON my butt should be getting bigger during pregnancy. I used to pride myself for being able to fit in my son's toddler chairs with armrests. It's becoming a tight squeeze lately....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And finally, a complaint that's turned into a "Thank You."
On being utterly broke:
My husband encountered an interesting turn of paycheck events recently. The Air Force decided to recoupe $2000 they recently entitled us to. Only after making sure that the money was indeed a true entitlement, we spent it. A month after it was spent, the Air Force says, "Hey, sorry, we were wrong. We need that back."
Long story short, we're currently living on monetary fumes. They're taking $500 out of each of our next 4 paychecks. Ramen noodles have become my favorite meal. Our travel is limited to anything between my husband's work and back. That means no grocery stores past 7pm (only the far-away grocery stores are open past 7), and even if we could go to the grocery store there's not much we can buy, even if starving. Thankfully we haven't hit the point of starving yet, but we have thought about attacking our emergency supply of MRE's in the basement. But we won't. Those are reserved for an all-out worldwide calamity. Not quite there yet.
In the past with a constant flow of paychecks, how could we help but feel the need to spend, spend, spend? We're not disciplined when it comes to money. We are incapable of saving because money burns a hole in our pockets & in our minds. Just hafta spend it! So we've got a house full of odd goodies.
So in our current state we've gained a refreshed appreciation for all the things we already have. Toys, books, and there's always the library which we've hit a few times. And today I resorted to going through our moving boxes in the basement to find some more long-lost goodies that we still haven't unpacked. Rummaging through those boxes feels like Christmas morning! And of course going to the parks on these gorgeous summer days has been a familiar pastime lately.
It feels good NOT to have money because it makes me appreciate things more. It's making us reprioritize our needs. So when we get the money back again we'll spend it on precisely what we need, and hopefully nothing more. And perhaps save some. That will take some serious discipline. Perhaps we'll stash some into an untouchable savings plan somewhere. Or maybe not. Hehe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One thing we're looking forward to spending money on is my son's up-and-coming preschool tuition. YAY PRESCHOOL! Yup, in August my little boy, barring any potty training mishaps, will be a student.
Oh boy is he ready for this. He needs friends. He needs structure. He's already at a kindergarten level as far as academics are concerned (I'd like to think so anyway). But now it's time for him to get a life. The good news is their open parent policy...I can accompany him to preschool any time I like! (Plus I'll be able to sneak in some last minute potty training so they hopefully won't expel him for his deficiencies). And a bus will pick him / us up at our front door every single day! How awesome is that?
That reminds me, with a sleeping child, I finally have a moment to fill out the preschool paperwork. 4am and signing off...
!