Boys Vs. Girls

Dear readers,

I've left that last post languishing far too long, though it has been fun to hear people's reaction to our "situation". We, ok- mostly me, have been taking an informal survey of friends and family, and it seems we have 2 camps: those who react like I did with complete horror, and those who think what David did was a completely harmless, if not genius, solution. And, sorry to reinforce any stereotypes here, but the two groups are divided neatly by gender: women = horrified; men = in agreement with David.

I did not mean to argue whether or not David's solution was safe (which I still believe it NOT). Instead I wanted to argue whether or not David had enough knowledge to make that decision (which he DOESN'T).

Also, I should have mentioned that he not only crammed a pillow in the vent, but he also then placed a thick board flush with the wall and THEN pushed the tv stand against the board. NO AIR was escaping, no sireebob.

Now you all can go getting sympathetic with David if you wish, but please note that there are probably at least 27 other things that he's tinkered with in this house that could also cause fire/carbon monoxide/ who the fuck knows kinds of problems. THIS IS MY LIFE, is what I'm saying. We have outlets and phone jacks and cables popping up all over the place- breeding like damn rabbits- and who knows (well, DAVID) what else going on.

Sincerely,
Living dangerously with Do-it-yourself Davey

Hoping David Skips This One

Well the winter BLAH's are still in full force- we had wind chills of MINUS 50 here last night. I loved hearing what you all do- the music, getting enough exercise, buying spring-y or other fun things... I have to say that the music idea is one that I should have mentioned. Nothing- NOTHING- makes us all feel better than cranking the tunes and dancing around like fools. Even Marin can shake her hips. Oy.

So, here's a story about the Green Family Furnace- (and this is also the part you should skip, David):

We live in an old house. See:

It is also a big house. Our furnace has 3 zones, so that we don't have to heat all of the house equally.

Also, I have a very jack-of-all-trades husband. He's a farm boy- the youngest of eight kids. He is very smart about math and computer related things, and knows a little about just about anything/everything else. He's also a wonderful father and respectful husband. He's a good friend, kind person, and patient to the core.

But back to how he knows a bit about everything? And about how he's very smart? Weehelll, this sometimes leads to him thinking he knows more than he actually does. Because he knows a little about everything, NOT everything about everything... which can lead to some problems.

Ok, now go back to the picture. See those dormer windows? That's our finished attic (aka: the guest room), which we don't heat unless we are going to be up there. Usually, on these really cold days, it's quite cold up there... but this winter we've noticed that it's not. Huh. Weird, since it hasn't been above zero since approximately October 3rd.

David did some investigating and found the problem with our furnace- whenever any of the zones were heating, it was also heating the attic. Since we already go to the gas company each month and open our veins, this is not exactly great. After spending an evening or two puttering around with it, he came up with a solution. I could tell immediately that our 2nd floor was much warmer.

We were warmer and happier.

Until I found out how he "fixed" our problem. He stuffed a pillow in the attic vent.

HE STUFFED A PILLOW IN THE ATTIC VENT.

Oh, yes, he did.

Fire hazard, carbon monoxide issues, fucking with the furnace's airflow and perhaps causing more issues that we can't even speculate about b/c we don't know enough about furnaces?

You guys, seriously, sometimes he drives me completely up a tree.

Just Wondering

1. What do you do to make winter blahs less blah-y? My two major tricks (rearranging furniture and getting a haircut) have been done and it's only February. IT'S ONLY FEBRUARY! Seriously, I might not survive this winter without gnawing off my own paws b/c they are NEVER WARM. This is an artic hell hole, HELL HOLE, I say.

2. Did you have really bad nausea when you were pregnant? What did you do that helped? (I am asking for a friend, because while sex is a completely wonderful "keeping warm" activity, it hopefully will not result in procreating for my family.)

3. Do you have an "apple"? (As in "of your eye".) Pammy asked this at work awhile back, and I've been wanting to ask you about it since. Look, I know a mother's love is equal and each child (pet) has his or her own special place, but do you have one child(pet) that makes you especially gooey? I'm not sure if I do. Until recently, I would have said Marin, but I'm not sure if that's because I love babies so much, or if she's really my apple. And now that she's decided she's a toddler, well. Around here, the jury is still out.

P.S. Blogger, you stupid jerk, you can stop laughing now and turn spell check back on. Seriously, we all get your point.

And So It Went

So, I shrugged off my crabby pants and hit the caucus, and I'm so glad I did. I WAS considering going only long enough to cast my vote, but at the last minute decided to stay for the whole caucusing process.

Caucusing = boring, weird, funny, fun, confusing, tiring, inspiring, and patriotic. Also: I got to brush up on my Madd Robert's Rules of Order Skillz. Rawr!

Obama won for our county by 8 votes.

I'm a delegate to the County Caucus. I was not in that room for ONE MINUTE before getting sucked back into the local Dems. (This is good and bad, but mostly good, I think.)

+++++++++++

David and I met 9 years ago on February 6th. We immediately connected and started dating. Since our "anniversary" is so close to Valentine's day, we celebrate it instead. David brought home tulips, and we watched the movie Once (oh, so good). And we are going on a real live date on Saturday, just the two of us. You guys, 9 years seems like forever. We are too YOUNG to have met 9 years ago.

Other good movies I've seen lately: Jesus Camp (we were rivited) and The Waitress (this was just perfect). Also, I'm going to be buying the soundtrack for Once. *pitter-patter*

P.S. Is Blogger EVER going to fix spell check??

Super Tuesday/Fat Tuesday

It's Fat Tuesday- mmm jambalaya and corn bread.

I am caucusing for Obama. [Edited to add link- awesome link.]

I just hope he doesn't get assassinated.

Last night work was funny, but also frustrating.

I was having a hard time keeping it together.

My dear friend is moving.

Sad.

Also, someone that I struggle with was in FINE FORM.

FRUSTRATING.

I may never get to have a nomal, vaginal delivery.

Sucks.

(We may not even have another child, but still, sucks.)

My baby has turned into a toddler- SUDDENLY- and I miss my baby.

My toddler is annoying as hell.

Also, cute.

Also, loud- so, so, loud.

So far, this Tuesday has not been Super at all.

Bleh.

Are you caucusing?

I'd love to hear who you are rooting for.

Also

If Linda doesn't post some pictures soon, I'm going to get rigor mortis in my trigger-finger from it freezing to death while hitting "refresh" over and over.

Have I mentioned my office is cold?

What is she going to name that baby? WHAT?

If anyone knows anything, PLEASE let me know.

(Also. I hope she's having a wonderful and lovely day and not worrying one bit about us. Because one shouldn't have to worry about the internets while giving birth. So don't tell her I sat around all day drumming my fingers, ok? I mean, unless she asks. And then just tell her I was politely anxious and ...fucking going insane. Or something.)

Sleep Update and Laura Links

So a few of you have been so kind to ask me about our sleeping situation since Marin got tubes in her ears. I figure since you've been so kind as to put up with all of our sleep drama for so long, it's only fair that I tell you how tubes have affected our lives.

So, currently, Marin's sleeping has... wait for it... remained the same.

*Sigh*

She still is up fairly often at night- and still winds up in our bed by morning, and I'm still nursing her overnight because Dude, what else do I do?

It's nice to know she's not in any pain anymore (though we DID have a stretch where I could have SWORN she had an ear infection, but had none of the tell-tale drainage of an ear-infection-with-tubes). But after a few nights of getting up, like, every 45 minutes (and I'm not even kidding), she's back to her normal routine.

I try not to think much about her/our sleeping situation, because if I do it stresses me out. It stresses me out AND it doesn't solve anything.

She does go to sleep now in her crib instead of us rocking her, and she is nursing LESS overall (I think, anyway, though I have no substantial evidence to back that up...)

So there you have it. And now, some Little House on the Prairie/Laura Ingalls Wilder links:

This is a wikipedia link that has some great factual information about the REAL Laura. Like, did you know that there really WAS a baby brother that died? Though he died at 9 months, and not as a newborn like he did on the show.

Here is a link to Melissa Gilbert's wikipedia page- with lots of information about what she did after LHOTP. The kid who played Willie Olson? His name is Jonathon Gilbert, as in Laura's brother in real life.

For a list of the cast of characters, and more links to their websites and information of where they are now, click here.

Click on over to see Melissa Gilbert's official website- where you will find Q&A, lots of photos in the photo gallery from her LHOTP days. Also, the only person she stayed in regular contact with after the show was Alison Arngrim- the actress who played Nellie Olson! (BTW, she now does stand up.)

Melissa Gilbert's myspace page!

Alison Arngrim's myspace page.

Lindsey and Sidney Greenbush's (the twins who played Carrie) myspace page. Also their official website. I was shocked to realize that little Carrie was OLDER than I was! When I watched the show (already in reruns), I always thought of her as the "baby".

I am a huge nerd.

The end.

(Still no spell check. *shrugs shoulders* They were going to find out sooner or later.)