Ice Screams

UPDATE: I wrote this post a week ago but forgot to publish it.

Yesterday we had an "ice storm" and school was cancelled. Dana's office opened 2 hours late and the entire city she works in was shut down until noon. To someone who lived in Wisconsin for almost a decade, this struck me as quite funny. Now, if you're keeping track, I was born and raised in Dallas, so I understand the rare cosmic event that freezing weather is for this neck of the woods. What I don't understand is the mass hysteria it creates and why the city can't prepare or react more efficiently. Now, I'm fully aware that our highway system is essentially a system of open-air bridges which are not commonly built in the North. So, our infrastructure presents a unique hazard in freezing weather. But they still can't seem to take care of the ground-level roads well. We use sand here instead of salt, and I've never been given a good explanation why. Perhaps sand is cheaper, but I've been unable to find numbers showing this. I'm told sand provides better traction, but it doesn't melt the ice. Because of this, the city won't lay sand until after the ice hits, so there's no road preparation for the storm they knew was coming for 2 days. Realizing the sand was doing little good at preventing the hundreds of ice-induced traffic accidents, the city switched to a chemical de-icer later in the day. Now, this has to be more costly than regular old salt. And quite honestly, the "storm" was really a thin sheet of ice covering the roads and making the grass crunchy. By noon, the ice had starting melting from the roof and by 4pm our driveway was no longer our own private skating rink, and the temperature was 45.


So, around noon I decided to go out b/c I figured the stores would be empty. That, and we desperately needed a refill on our asthma inhalers. So, to Target I went. It was fairly empty. People looked at me weirdly for going sans coat, despite the the sweats I was wearing. I mean, it was 45. I picked up the prescription and proceeded to wander the aisles of Target, making a mental list of wants and needs when I had some "disposable" income. When that will be exactly, I'm not quite sure. I really love Target. Anyways, we spent a decent amount of time in the toy car aisle, where Beckett and a man his late 20s looked at cool Hot Wheel cars. I guess I should get used to this vehicle fascination because it seems like it'll never end (if the 20-something guy was any indication). When we finally left the aisle, Beckett screamed that he wanted to go to the train aisle. Now, it was a simple request that would have been easily accommodated. But, the delivery of the request was less than ideal and was not to be rewarded. So, I said "no," which prompted a "cart tantrum" by Beckett. I let it continue as I wandered the aisels I wanted to look at it. Eventually, I mentioned to Beckett that if he just asked me nicely I would have said yes. This followed, "Mama, can we please look at the trains?" in the sweetest little voice you ever did hear. When I turned the corner, there was a woman standing there laughing. She said it was the funniest thing she'd heard all day. She had heard his entire tantrum (and, really, how couldn't you?) and the drastic change of voice. I'm glad she liked my little comedian. We'll see if she still finds it funny after listening to the same "joke" 10 times a day! Once, when Beckett threw a tantrum at the grocery store because I didn't select the "right" shopping cart, the nice old women pointed at that, even though he threw a knock-down, screaming fit up and down every aisle, he consistently said "please." He was loud and defiant, but he was still polite. I never thought of it that way. It gives me a silver lining!

Helpless

Last week, I emailed Proctor and Gamble to ask if they had plans to make one of their HE detergents in a particular scent that currently is only available in the standard detergent. I also mentioned that I thought the current available scent would be more aptly named 'revolting rain' instead of 'renewing rain,' as it added such a stench to our clothes that they are hard to wear. This is what they had to say:

We love to hear suggestions about improving our products or creating new ones; your comments help us decide what we'll do in the future. Be assured, I'm sharing them with the apropriate people in our company.

If you want compensation for an idea, it's important to know P&G can't accept an idea for consideration without a patent or a patent application. Once an idea is patented, the only way to submit it for review is through Connect & Develop on the home page of our website, pg.com. Just click on the Connect & Develop icon near the middle of the page, then Submit Your Innovation.

Hope this is helpful.
P&G Team

No, P&G Team, this was not helpful in the least. I hope the "apropriate people" actually read the email I take the time to write and maybe find it within themselves to answer my question "apropriately." Oh, and I hope they know how to spell "apropriate."

Oates-meal

Pediatrician update: We have found a new pediatrician! He accepts our insurance and he he's on Dallas' top docs list. And, most importantly, he has a huge aquarium and a train in his waiting room. Thank you to the parents of a little girl in Beckett's class for the recommendation!! We've only seen him once, but I liked him much better than the other dr. He agreed that putting tubes in Kyler's ears after only 3 ear infections was unnecessary and too aggressive a treatment. And, he didn't scold me or my children or tell me what other parents are doing wrong. Who thought those would be characteristics we'd look for?

Today, while driving back to the grocery store (yes, I said back. i was one of "those people" who shop and check out only to discover all their payment methods are at home. And to top it off, it was a nightmare shopping trip. We're under a "winter weather advisory," which means it might drop below freezing for half a second. This means every Dallasite must rush to the grocery store to stock up on food for fear they'll be holed up inside their homes. This is not the reason I was there. Monday is my weekly shopping day. If I could have pushed it back a day, I would have, but the kids can't live on rice cakes and honey forever.), I was jammin' to Hall & Oates "Kiss on my List" (only I sang "kiss on my lips" b/c, even though I know it's wrong, that's how I originally sang it, and it's just stuck with me), having a good ol' time while the boys snoozed away in their carseats. Then I remembered a joke I heard on Chelsea Lately the other night about an ambush makeover on the Today show. A mom whose kids were too embarrassed to be seen with her got a great makeover. When her new look was revealed, the kids (all girls of course) were screaming so loudly you couldn't hear Kathie Lee or Hota (now, is that a bad thing, I ask?). Chelsea's joke was that 'yeah, girls, Mom looks cool now, but she's still driving you home in a minivan blasting out Hall & Oates.' I quickly changed the station.

All in all, it really was a good shopping trip. I was able to get $132 of groceries for just $50.54 after coupons and sales, going just $.54 over our weekly grocery budget! And to top it off, the foundation repair guy said the lengthening crack in our hallway is not a result of foundation damage but just signs of the house shifting and the pressure from the a/c duct directly above it. So, I saved roughly $2082 today! (i'm just estimating on the foundation repair cost) I also discovered his (the foundation dude) father-in-law was the chief engineer to design the logistics of building indoor water parks in Wisconsin Dells. Because of him, Midwestern kids can simultaneously shoot down a water slide while watching the snow fall.

Random Musings

Soon I will post something more reflective about the start of the new year and the changes we're making and our goals for the boys (and us), but not today. No, today is more of a buffet post, a samper platter, if you will, of several, somewhat unrelated bits of stuff that don't comprise enough for a full post. But, they're still worth writing about.

• On how technology is changing childhood: I suspect I never picked up a pocket calculator and proceeded to talk on it and then used it to snap a quick picture, declaring "Cheese!". Or, if I did, I'm sure my parents thought my behavior bizarre. When Kyler does this, I think, "He's a genius! He can use a cell phone!"


• On the constitution of syle: I have a large 3-ring binder I use as a household organizer. It's covered in a beige fabric with a chocolate damask print. It's pretty. Beckett looked at it the other day and said, "Wow, Mama, that's beautiful!" I said, "You have style, my man." His response, "BURP!".


• On bathroom privacy: Every parent will tell you bathroom privacy ends once you have kids. Before they're mobile, you bring them into the bathroom with you because you're scared they'll feel abandoned or, at your the most desperate, you just don't to hear them scream. Once they're crawling, you bring them with you so they don't crawl somewhere they shouldn't, like over to that potted plant that's been waiting all day to have its dirt scooped onto the floor. One would expect this practice to end at some point in adolescence, yet I distinctly remember my mom demanding my sister, brother, and I PLEASE leave the bathroom so she could pee in private. We were each much too old for this to be an acceptable practice, but, yet, so accustomed to being there it didn't seem weird. To this day, my mom still leaves the bathroom door open. Now it's a little weird. Old habits die hard. Well, a few days ago, Kyler was pointing out my body parts as I was going to the bathroom - knee, leg, flower (my tatoo on my upper right thigh), hair. Then, he brought me the hair dryer and said, "On." I guess I'm glad he didn't bring a comb. Too many inappropriate puns to mention!


• On Christmas Trees: When I first moved to Wisconsin, I referred to all evergreens as Christmas trees. It struck me as odd that people had Christmas trees planted in their front yards. Now, I understood that such trees where first used as, well, plants, long before people started bringing them indoors, stringing them with lights, and hanging shining baubles on them. But, to a girl from Texas where evergreens don't really grow, every pine or fir tree said "Christmas" to me. I have, apparently, passed on this belief to Kyler. As we were taking a walk through our neighborhood, we happened upon an evergreen in someone's front yard (they do exist as landscaping here, they're just rare). He tugged at a branch and asked, "On?" Because all evergreen trees are Christmas trees, and thus, must have glowing lights on them.