Slippery Slope

I've tried to stray away from writing a judgmental post about the 33-year-old California woman who recently gave birth to octuplets. (Latest article here.) But it's time to write something.

She has six children.
The children are all aged 2-7.
She lives with her parents.
She has no partner.
All were conceived via in vitro, including the octuplets.
She works at a fertility clinic.
In the latest article, her Mom called her out and said she's been obsessed with having children since she was a teenager.

(NOTE: All of the items above are understandable and ok - it's just that when they're all meshed together in that one woman - it gets a little...weird.)

Come. on.

I have so many questions/thoughts:

1.) How has she afforded in vitro seven (maybe more?) times? Is she stealing it? Somehow? I want to see the paper trail.
2.) She's no Michelle Duggar. This is different. She has a problem.
3.) She works in a Fertility clinic. Ok, that's like an alcoholic working as a bartender.
4.) I read in one article that it will take approximately 25 million to raise these children over the course of a lifetime. HOW is she going to do that?
5.) How could a doctor, in good conscience, go through with her seventh in-vitro?
6.) Perhaps she should consider the alternate profession of being a surrogate?
7.) Single folks across the country get denied constantly by adoption agencies in their quest to have ONE child. This single woman can becoming pregnant utilizing medical technology how many times? This is ok?

I'm just so disturbed about this on so many levels.

Accountability is the key.
I cannot wait to see what unravels...

Another good article here.

PSA: Set your DVR

Following the Super Bowl will be an hour-long episode of The Office.

More info here.

I think that's cheating.

An actual question I fielded from a co-worker on behalf of a homeowner regarding our company Super Bowl party this Sunday:

"We have a homeowner RSVPing for the Super Bowl party but he wants to know what's on the menu because he's a vegetarian, however he can eat hot dogs."

Hmmm....

Couple of things:

#1. The event is free. You will eat and drink what we have. Happilly.
#2. I don't believe true "vegetarians" have exceptions to the meat rule. I could be wrong.
#3. If vegetarians did have the opportunity to vote in one allowable meat product, I'm pretty confident it wouldn't be hot dogs.

Awesome.

Gentlemen:

To become a father is not hard. To be a father is, however.
— Wilhelm Busch

Ferg Friday

While ya'll are digging out of your snow, Ferg's laying out. In the sun. In the courtyard.

Life's too short to be cold, friends.

The age old question.

Should we buy a dyson vacume cleaner or a crib?

$424.99 on amazon.

-or-

$389.00 on Land of Nod.

Ah, perspective...

Happy Birthday, D!

Today is the birthday of a dear co-worker and friend.

Thank you for ALL that you do for us, D. You are so appreciated.
I hope you have a wonderful day.
I'm glad that you were born.

Review: Breathe Right Strips.

Back when I was in Toledo in August I bought some generic, "Breathe Right Strips" because I read in some pregnancy book that they're helpful if you become congested when you're pregnant. (Since I can't down my normal quart of nyquil in my current state.)

Well, first - keep in mind these items come in sizes. I bought the wrong size. (It's for medium to large adult noses. I think I have a small-ish nose.)

So, last night when I was struggling to breathe and my throat was becoming raw from breathing out of it, I gave a strip a shot.

I was terrified because I'm normally allergic to the adhesive on EVERYTHING: bandaids, medical tape, etc. Meaning: I get a red rash upon removing said adhesive from my cuerpo. (Body).

Thoughts:
1. It worked. It IMMEDIATELY opened up my nostrils. I'm not kidding you.
2. It's not flesh-toned, as advertised. I think they should work on that.
3. It's probably important to get the correct size.
4. The generic worked fine.
5. There are no medications in the strips. They're literally a bandaid with little plastic pieces that essentially pull your nose open.
6. Um. No rash.
7. I could feel it at first, but ended up falling asleep just fine. In the a.m., I didn't even feel it.

And yes. They ARE attractive.

So, give 'em a whirl. There's a boatload of different kinds. See here.

Where has the time gone?

Our niece camera-phoned us some adorable photos of she and Micah! Where has the time gone? Micah turns one next month. Holy cow.

He's better than Prince I guess.

It appears that this Sunday Mr. Bruce Springsteen, aka, "Ths Boss" will provide the halftime show entertainment at the Super Bowl.

Here's how I feel about this:

I really don't care. He doesn't bother me, nor do I know any songs he's ever recorded except, "Dancing in the Dark" (you know, the one where Courtney Cox dances in the video?) or, "Born in the USA" and my personal fave Springsteen hit, "Philadelphia."

Is there another act I'd rather see play the half-time show?

Um. Should you even ask?

THE Mr. Lionel Richie.
Duh.

Another "celebrity" baby name.

Dreavyn Kingslee Martin

Newborn son of the Good Charlotte guitarist. (I know. I don't care either.)

But the name... I wasn't quite sure how to pronounce it.

Thoughts?

FYI

Won't be much blogging today. I have a ridiculous amount on my work "To Do" list and I have a cold: sore throat, sneezing, headache and runny nose. (Those are all fun things when the only medication you can "take" while pregnant are Vicks VapoRub, breathe right strips (?) and like one acetaminophen.)

NOT that I'm complaining. I would have a cold everyday until the end of this pregnancy for my little sweet potato. I am merely recording my thoughts. On my blog. Which I can do from time to time. (NOTE: I am not attempting to summons pity.)

Newest online addiction

Some people go to the web to play soduku, online poker or twitter.
Me? I like Yahoo Answers. (Well, and to blog. And facebook. Oh gosh. I enjoy the interweb. That's no lie.)

Back to Yahoo Answers.

Basically, if you're a yahoo mail user you already have a yahoo account. You go to the yahoo homepage and click on, "Answers". (It's the very first choice at the top of the left-hand column.) Next you'll see:As it says above. You can, "Ask. Answer. Discover. " I'm a big fan of answering. Why? You accrue points and get to different levels. It's like a game! Here's where I currently am:I've answered 41 questions and have had 8 of my answers voted the "best" by the asker. This means I get 10 additional points for each best vote.

Yeah, I'm dork. It's fun.

There are so many categories, though - from fertility/pregnancy questions, to car questions, which cell phones to buy to how to say "dog" in Spanish. Try it. You may like it.

What is that fun saying?

"Lack of planning on your part doesn't warrant an emergency on mine"?

"Get your head out of your bun."

I would like to commit in writing that I am truly thankful that Burger King has retired the creepy, "Burger King King" from their commercials.

Blech.

I would also like to thank them for the Whopper Family commericials.

"Get your head out of your bun," and, "I wish I'd never been broiled!", makes me laugh each time I hear it. (Clearly it doesn't take much.)

Just got the Blackberry Bold.

Review: I LOVE IT.
Why: For starters, it's uber-fast. MUCH faster thinking than my blackberry pearl and the web-based browser is also much quicker. Think "rabbit" compared to "turtle" speed.
Anything you don't like about it?: Yep - it's big. A lot bigger than my pearl.
Any pimp-like qualities associated with the phone?: Yes again! The back of it is "leather".
Would you recommend this product?: YES! Blackberry messenger (the free RIM-based instant messaging service is FREE for all blackberry users ACROSS the world. I use it daily with my siblings and C.) I've wanted an iPhone since the get, however it ain't my bag since I use messenger so much.
--
Overall? I give the Bold 4 our of 4 stars.

Produce Report: She's a sweet potato (?) this week.

Today I'm 18 weeks pregnant.
And I am completely and 100% grossed about by the image above (ew, ew, ew) of an alleged sweet potato. If I weren't a lady - I'd give other examples of what I thought it looked like. However, I needn't shame my mother who just celebrated her birthday yesterday.

Moving on.

Lila is considered to be 16 weeks old. And not all that modest, given the last look at her area at our last ultrasound. We'll have to work on that. (I'm sure that comes from Craig.) Also at the ultrasound, she waved to us and we could see all 10 fingers. She also has one super-cute face already.

Q. How is your core temperature?
A. Comparable to what the temperature would be like if one lived on the sun. I am perpetually stiflingly hot. Like, wish-I-could-wear-fewer-clothes-to-work-but-it-would-be-inappropriate hot.

Q. Let's talk about your hair. How is it?
A. Frizzy. I think my hormonees (pronounced whore-moan-eeeee-s) are a titch out of control. My once smooth hair is frizzy all the time. I'm thinking of just never rinsing out my conditioner and going the greasy route.

Q. Let's also talk about your pants. How do they feel?
A. Tight. I'm still wearing my pre-pregnancy pants because, well... my pregnancy pants I wrote about several weeks ago haven't arrived yet. (YAY MEXICO!) Luckily, I buy ultra-super-low jeans. (Think lead-singer-of-Aerosmith/Poison-style-jeans. Cool, eh? YEP.)

Q. Does Mexico do anything lovely for pregnant women? In terms of automobile parking?
A. Why yes! They do. Please see below. And yes, that's handicap/expectant mother parking.

Q. Have you felt La, La, La, Lila move yet?
A. YES! On Tuesday night I did! She likes to float around (I'm assuming she's dancing) at the end of the night as we settle in to watch DVR'd stuff. It felt as if it does when your fingertips lightly graze the top of your skin. I'm hoping she's smooth and flowy - more like Nancy Kerrigan, less like Tonya Harding.

Q. How registering going?
A. Slow.

Q. Have you ordered any bedding yet?
A. Um, yes - like 2 weeks ago before I was even sure that the sweet potato (?) was a girl I ordered a fitted sheet, skirt, bumper, quilt and blanket.Why did I like it? Um, it has 3-D dresses on it. See here.

And, here I am. Pregnant. (Before I ate an iota of food.) Yesterday morning. Ignore my bed-head.

Farewell... until next week!

Day of note! Day of note!

Today is the birth of my Mom, Shirl.

Quick synopsis of my Mom:
She's cool. Creative. Faithful. Honest.
Intelligent. Fun. Unique. Resourceful.
WHO-larious. Entrepreneurial.
Artistic. Kind.
And mine.
--
I am so, so, so glad that she was born.
--
Happy Birthday, Mom!
I love you to the moon and back a gazillion times.

OH.MY.GOSH.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,481944,00.html

Movie Review: No conflicts here.

Movie: The Hurricane
Starring: Denzel

Released in 2000, this film staring The Denzel as Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter tells the story of a boy, then prize fighter and his life-long struggle with the powers that be. (Aka: The "Man".) That's Hurricane below.It was on Starz.

We watched it. I was delightfully surprised.

Do you remember the Bob Dylan, "Hurricane" song? Yeah, I never know the inspiration. As it turns out it was Hurricane Carter.



"Here comes the story of the hurricane,
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin that he never done.
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world."

Facebook.

I've written about facebook before.
I like it. I'm nosy.
I like reading people's status updates.
I like looking at their pictures.
It's fun.

I also like that when you accidentally become friends with someone that a.) you don't quite remember from high school or b.) realize you don't like - you can quietly, without them knowing, "delete them" from your facebook life for infinity.

To learn how to do so, click here.

If you're not on facebook - you're missing out. I'm not a myspace-er. (Blech, ew.)

Currently my social networking sites include just facebook and linked in.

You?

Movie Review: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I'm conflicted. And, I know this is up for a boatload of oscars, including Best picture. (Or whatever they call it.)

Pros of the movie:

• It was touching in some scenes.
• It was based in New Orleans, which is a nice nod.
• Brad Pitt is pretty hot (as a younger guy).
• Cate Blanchett is normally pretty great to watch.
• Queenie (Brad Pitt's Mom in the movie) was lovely.
• The anti-aging of Brad Pitt's character was pretty impressive.
  

Cons of the movie:

• It was long.
• It wasn't cohesive.
• It was really long.
• The movie didn't flow. And in 3 hours, I feel they had ample time to make the movie more seamless.
  

Would I see it again? No.
Did I think it was a lot like Forest Gump? Yes.
Would I rather watch Forest Gump again? Yes.

Semi-disappointing.

Signed,
Debbie Downer

Like Mr. Rogers.

Remember how Mr. Rogers always wore the same "play shoes" when he went to work at his workshop, er office? Or whatever that was? I believe he hung up his coat in the closet, put on his cardigan, took off his penny loafers and would put his "fun" shoes on. The same kind of shoe year after year. Actually, I'm willing to say the same pair of shoes.

Anywho, just like Mr. Rogers was content with the same shoes year after year, I would be content to wear these running shoes for the rest of my years.

I believe this is my second or third pair of this particular style. (993) I've always been a New Balance fan, but these little goodies have changed the mood of my feet from melancholy to happy.

There is no better shoe.

P.S. I think I secretly love them because my Dad wore and ran in the same style more than 20 years ago.

Don't forget!

View the Sneak Peeks here.

Tonight 9/8 central.
--
YES!
(Aaron has really grown up.)

Looking ahead to the future.

A couple of nights ago I attempted to bake cupcakes in the toaster oven.

Remember, I always burn myself when cooking/baking.
And, I don't really enjoy cooking/baking, per se.

That said, my cupcakes exploded.

That's where Craig comes in.

He walks into the kitchen, ate an exploded cupcake, told me it was wonderful and then also said:

"You know, on your next job interview... when they ask you, 'What's your greatest weakness?'...you should probably say, 'Cooking.'"

--
I love him.

Produce Report: GENDER UPDATE!NAME UPDATE

We're back from the ultrasound and it's been confirmed.

In fact, the baby gave us an immediate very visible view.
--
We're having a baby girl. :-)
--
UPDATE
Her name is Lila Ross.
Lila because we love it.
Ross because it's Craig's middle name and his Grandma's maiden name.

Quick thought.

It is my opinion that one of the most non-enjoyable aspects of being a female concerned with leg hair is not the actual shaving of said legs, but the itchy feeling your legs feel after you retire from the shower and before you slather your legs with moisturizer.

That's all.

On this Obama Eve.

May it be noted that I am indeed not an Obama lover or hater. I'll admit it, I'm a registered Republican and I voted for him begrudgingly for reasons I need not go into, since the election is now o.v.e.r.

That said...

I'm gaining more respect for Mr. Obama as time passes.

Here's why: I appreciate that he doesn't appear to be all giddy-like over his overwhelming (and fleeting, as it is for all politicians) high public opinion at this moment. Oprah's all up in his business, every celebrity is all up in his business AND he's essentially carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

And, he's doing so with grace.

With eyes set on the prize, not on the hoopla.

With eloquence.

What else he's doing with eloquence is consistently reminding the American people each and every time he speaks that this "change" everyone has been chanting, chanting, chanting about is not going to happen overnight. No, in fact it may take a year. Or even a few years.

Let's remember that, ok? Is this even something that our fast-food nation can understand?

Also, let's remember that putting all of our faith in one human being, all of our eggs in one basket, is the ultimate curse - disappointment is inevitable. And, no man or woman can ever live up.

Instead, let's remember that the change is our responsibility, as well. Not just his.

Stepping off soap box now...

One last comment: I find it to be truly momentous that for the first time in the history of this country, Black men and women will see someone who is more similar than different from them be voted into the post powerful office in this country, arguably the world, in less than 24 hours. Yes, yes, yes - 'tis a beautiful thing. Something worthy of note and respect.

Take it from Ike Turner's ex-wife.

" Whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free . . . your true self comes out. "
— Tina Turner

Produce Report: It's an onion this week.

What a gross vegetable to compare the baby to, no? Blech.

Ok, I'm 17 weeks today. According to the Bible (What to Expect when You're Expecting) I am in my 4th week of my 4th month.

This week the baby is developing a bit of body fat and my uterus is apparently the size of a small melon. (I know. What's with all the fruit comparisons?)

Let's dig right in. Short update this week. Not much going on.

Q. How do you feel?
A. I'm not kidding, I feel guilty with how great I feel. All is well. I'm exercising and am happy. I cannot wait to feel the produce kick.

Q. What is your current drama/obstacle?
A. Um, registering for baby stuff. I decided this week that I was going to start the process. I talked with some new Moms and expecting Moms and started researching consumer reports (thanks cousin!) and proceeded to only overwhelm myself to the point of shutting my computer and going to eat a spoonful of chocolate frosting. Currently there are 3 things on my registry (Including the car seat below, rated #1 on consumer reports. Important since I live in crazy-driving Mexico.) Heavy sigh.
Q. Are you going to tell us the gender of the baby yet?
A. Nope. We have another ultrasound on Tuesday to hopefully confirm the already 97% confirmed gender. I'm so excited. I think I'll even tell you the name. The onion has been named for quite some time now. We keep using it all the time. It's fun. Makes it more real. What do YOU think it is?

Is it a boy or a girl?
	BOY!
	GIRL!
	I already know and won't say a word.
	I have no idea.
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Q. Are the other two mammals in my household gaining weight right along with me?
A. Does it even remotely surprise you that my relentlessly calm and consistent husband has not gained one ounce? It doesn't surprise me. Now, my little muffin-head Fergie? She's gained half a pound. I'm not kidding you, ask C. She's eating all the time. As in, clearing her bowl and then kicking it around until we fill it with more food. She's skyrocketed from 8 lbs. to 8.5. :-)

Q. How much weight have I gained?
A. At this point, I've gained about 7 lbs. I guess that's normal. Whatev.

Q. How do you feel about kegel exercises?
A. I hate them and they are not comfortable and don't seem natural. Apparently they're important so you don't pee when you sneeze in the days/months/years following the birth. Ugh. Add that to the, "Really? No one tells you this" list.

Q. Word on the street is that pregnant women have crazy dreams. Are you?
A. Let's just say that prior to being pregnant I slept like a rock. Now, I dream constantly. This past week I dreamed that Craig shot me. It was just a flesh wound. And as I was recounting the dream to my sister she noticed that I said, "...and the problem was we couldn't get to a hospital in time because we were camping." She calmly noted, "Um. I think the problem was that Craig shot you, not that you couldn't get to the hospital."

Lol.

Ok, that's all for now! Next week I'll post more pictures...

'Twas Bella's 1st birthday yesterday...

My fav picture I had to photoshop. Below.
(Notice the, "Birthday Girl" tutu.)