NY Moms

FYI, we are getting relatively settled here in NYC. That being said, I have been noticing that NY moms are truly a different breed. I am in awe of them to be quite honest. I don't know how they manage... at least the ones without the luxury of nannies and full-time housekeepers and such.

I see NY moms on the subway with strollers, and I find myself marveling at how they even managed to get the stroller up and down the subway steps. What do these people do when the subway is jam-packed, as it often is?

I can barely manage myself here yet, and I'm sitting here thinking - HOW ON EARTH AM I EVER GOING TO BE A MOTHER HERE?

I am sure part of my concern arises from the fact that our move did not go according to plan and that it has, as I wrote previously, taken FAR longer to get fairly settled than we ever could have imagined. It is still a process, but the good news is that things are finally falling into place... finally.

I adore our apartment. It is truly the perfect place for us, and the job is pretty darn fantastic as well, albeit incredibly demanding and time-consuming. It is however my favorite job I've ever had. It's challenging in the best imaginable way - and I feel like I finally found a fairly permanent 'home.' I also LOVE NY. It's just beyond awesome and I feel like a kid in a candy store - seriously. I keep taking pictures of things and wondering when I'm going to start taking them for granted. I hope that never happens but I'm sure it will. (I've included a few the pics below). It is amazing to me that we live in this adorable little neighborhood and can walk to phenomenal restaurants and shops - and that Manhattan is a pretty quick subway ride away, which is good, because I work there. It has yet to cease to amaze me that I work just down the street from the Empire State Building and the Flatiron building... one of my all-time faves. I often find myself wondering why I didn't pay more attention to ALL of this stuff when I was at NYU. I guess I was too busy obsessing about boys.

And now I get to share all of this with John, which is so awesome on so many levels.

But I seriously digress...

I am sitting here at work, wondering how on earth I will ever become a parent in New York - and if I do, how I'll manage everything. I'm sure I'll eventually figure it all out - but thank goodness John works from home. In the meantime, all of my viable eggs are probably shriveling up... but I'll just have to hope that isn't the case and cross that bridge when we get to it.

For now, we need to just take all of this in.

Of Course!

So no less than 24 hours out from having posted that John and I have decided that we want children, do I receive a call from my OBGYN who tells me that everything is fine... except that my "ovarian reserve" appears to have been "somewhat depleted." Her advice? Stop waiting and start trying to get knocked up... NOW.

I get this call at work. I'm sitting at my desk and had just finished texting my girlfriend and the phone rang. Unknown number. Generally, I don't answer these, but something told me to pick up the phone - and I did - and for the next hour, I was in complete shock. I know I'm 35 and I'm getting into that precarious age range for having children... but I thought I could get away with waiting just a teeny tiny bit longer, because I JUST TURNED 35. Countless women I know have had babies at 36, 37, 38, 39... and most recently... forty-fucking-two! In any case, after I hung up the phone, I started to cry.

According to my doctor, it would be incredibly risky to wait at this point. In fact, even another month or so might seriously jeopardize my chances of getting pregnant based on a variety of tests. She wants us to try to get pregnant - and if I can't do so in the next couple of months, she's referring me to a fertility specialist... something I'm not entirely sure how I feel about just yet.

Bottom line? I am out of wait time. It's go time... NOW. I suppose this makes the title of my last post all the more appropriate... and real. No more kidding around folks. I've got to make the most of whatever eggs I've got left. Heading out to pick up a few ovulation kits today.

Fingers crossed. Legs uncrossed.

Lovely.

Dim the Lights... Here We Go!

Oh bloggity blog... how I have missed thee! For reasons I cannot divulge, I had to take my blog down for a bit. It was quite maddening, because while it was down, I felt like there was a particularly massive onslaught of juicy stories about parenting and children that I was DYING and I mean DYING to write about. (Hello... TIME Magazine cover anyone?!?!)

To boot, I've also been dying to share something with all of you. We have decided that at some point, (not saying when), we will be kidding! Come hell or high water, we will have a baby... or two.

So there you have it folks. The decision is made. Ta da!!! And perhaps it's fate that I'm announcing this today, on the very day that I discovered another woman, struggling with the very same decision, happened to start a blog quite similar to mine sometime late last year. The most frustrating part? Hers is better. It's prettier and more well-written. So, for those of you who want to continue to read about one woman's confusion about the prospect of babymaking, I give you this: www.maybebabymaybenot.com

As for me, I'll be starting up a new blog shortly. Guess what it's called??? Go on... guess.

In sickness and in health...

About 2 or 3 weeks ago, John got sick. Some kind of bizarro cold thing that took hold and didn't let go... for like a week. It sucked on so many levels. For starters, John hates being sick. Now I know nobody necessarily likes it, but John really truly can't effing stand it - and he's not very good at the whole sick thing either. He's generally too mopey and/or exhausted to really enjoy the opportunity to just sit back and do virtually nothing. He also apologizes profusely because I have to pick up his slack in the cooking/chores/pups departments. Despite me telling him not to apologize, and that it's my pleasure, and that I know he'd do the same thing for me, the apologies keep coming.

Anyway, cut to about a week ago, and I am hit hard... crazy hard... with a really bad bout of the stomach flu. It was as if someone told every atom of food and fecal matter in my body to run... not walk to the nearest exits... those being my ass and my mouth. It was by far the most violent illness I've had in recent memory. For the first night, I didn't sleep. This was not by choice. I stayed up the entire night watching old episodes of Grey's Anatomy in-between what seemed like millions of trips to the bathroom. For John, this was payback time. He got to take care of me - and when my illness proved to be shorter-lived than his, he insisted on continuing to take care of me, despite the fact that I was perfectly capable. (Now perhaps you're the nauseous one).

Anyway, We often find ourselves feeling incredibly grateful that we're not sick simultaneously for obvious reasons.

What the hell does this have to do with having children you ask?

Well, I've noticed that families with young children seem to get sick as a family - as in all at the same time, and this prospect is truly terrifying.

What do you do as a family when not a single one of you is capable of doing anything at all? Starve? Drown in your own dirt? Cry?

Ick.

P.S. Aren't you glad I didn't find an image better suited to this post?

Why I'm Running

Ugh. I'm probably going to annoy the hell out of a lot of people because I haven't shut up about this all week, but I have to devote at least one blog post to this topic, given that it means a TON to me - and I wanted to explain why.

Those of you who are on my Facebook are already aware, but for those of you that are not - I am running my first 1/2 marathon this January. Why you ask? Well, for starters, I'm still struggling to lose the last 10 or so lbs. I have been for months now. Grr. I've also discovered that I actively enjoy running. Yes. I said that. I enjoy running. I have come to love something that I once truly despised. Funny how that can happen.

Anyway, those are the least important reasons I'm doing this. In May, I'll be running my second 1/2 marathon - and this one is crazy cool because I'm doing it for my friend Heather, and her adorable little 4 year-old girl who is battling Leukemia. Her daughter shouldn't have to go through the hell that is fighting something like cancer. No child should - so, we'll be running to raise critical funding for the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation in May of 2012. I've already started hitting everyone up for donations, and if you'd like to donate, you can click here: https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=492975&supId=347488959

Now that I've discovered that I can run and simultaneously help out a great cause, I'll be repeating this again in November of next year in Santa Barbara, where I'll be running and fundraising for The Gwendolyn Strong Foundation to find a cure for Spinal Muscular Atrophy, (SMA). If you've been reading my blog, you already know this is another cause that I strongly support.

I can only sort-of begin to imagine what it must be like to be the parents of a sick child. It must take immense courage, strength, determination, patience and love. My friends Heather and Victoria are shining examples of this. They are among the strongest and most inspirational people I know - and I have them to thank for encouraging me to do this in the first place, because it feels really, really great to be doing something good for other people who need help. That part is even more addictive than the running.

If you know anyone who might be interested in donating or perhaps sponsoring me in May for the PCRF race, drop me a line!

Thanks for reading.

These are always so demented, but I couldn't resist

Well, given the fact that John and I are sort of semi-entertaining the prospect of having our own child if we do actually kid - I couldn't resist trying one of these godawful programs that tell you what your kid is gonna look like, despite the fact that they always produce very creepy looking borderline CGI/alien-esque creations that frankly, I would want no part of.

Nevertheless - our child is evidently going to be born with freakishly well-defined dark eyebrows and strawberry blonde hair - and it'll be sporting nearly transparent/invisible glasses too.

Behold:

I must be losing my mind... but at least it's for a great cause

So I've been running... a lot. I used to hate running - mostly because I was convinced that it made me bigger and bulkier - and the whole idea is to get smaller, so it seemed counter-productive. There was also the boob issue. Where on earth would I ever find a sports bra that would actually keep these things in place so they wouldn't get all saggy and revolting?

Fortunately, I finally managed to find one that keeps my girls solidly in place and I managed to get over the whole paranoia about my calves getting even bigger than they already are thing.

Now I'm kind-of getting addicted to running. I am still completely befuddled by this myself - so imagine my surprise when my workout this morning consisted of a 6 mile run.

I was stunned. Still am.

But here's the kicker.

My friend Heather, (who has guested on this blog before and who has a great blog of her own - www.365awesomedays.blogspot.com
) has been running her little ass off herself - and she's doing this 1/2 marathon in May to benefit the Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation - and she invited me to join her... and I said YES.

So that's what I'll be doing on May 6, 2012 folks.

Guess I better not have too many margaritas on the 5th.

I've totally lost it.

Distracted - but in a good way... I think

Last week, MTV debuted Good Vibes - a new cartoon that my talented husband storyboarded for. You may already be well-aware of this because I haven't shut up on Facebook about it. I am insanely proud of him - and I'm praying that the show becomes a bombastic hit, because it deserves to. If you haven't already watched it - please do!

Anyway, I've been distracted by that, work and life in general - so I simply haven't blogged.

I've also been suffering from a severe case of baby-on-the-brain, so when our dear friends Ira and Janice appeared with their 5 month-old adorable little munchkin Samantha at the Good Vibes premiere, I died. She is beyond precious and I was completely mesmerized. It exacerbated my condition a great deal.

I couldn't stop holding her tiny little hands and petting her puffy little cheeks.

*Sigh*

Ira said, "So the answer to your question is... to kid." As of today, I think I agree, but sshhh... don't tell my parents. I won't hear the end of it. Thanks in advance for your cooperation.

As for the picture, I tried to get Janice's permission to use one of her clone, but she's MIA, so I'm stealing my friends' adorable Star Wars Halloween photo instead. I don't think they'll mind. Look at how cute this one is as a Wookiee!

"There's our Daughter"

John sent me this today.
Moments later he said, "There's our daughter."

And I was really thrilled to read that because it's really cute to hear him say things like that... but then I was just kinda sad.

As of late, we've clearly been leaning more towards kidding than not, but circumstances continue to preclude us from doing so. Although we're still not ready, or 100% certain, adopting or having a child requires time and money... and right now, we don't have much of either. We're both working our asses off and paying down our debt, (as I've said repeatedly, so I apologize). Nevertheless, everyday I am bombarded with horrific stories and stats about the forthcoming double-dip recession or housing bust... or some other imminent financial disaster that's gonna take us from bad to worse... or something like the contents of a PR plan a colleague of mine just put together for a new client, which included the following:

2) GENERATION X: DOUBLE WHAMMY-ED

Covering the 46 million American born between 1965 to 1982, their employment history has been characterized by two financial tsunamis. Hit by the Dotcom Bust of 1999, a scant 10 years later, just as they were feeling confident and planning for the future – wham! – the Great Recession knocks ‘em down again.


And right now, I'm ticked off with myself for even writing this. I sound like a totally depressed, glass half-empty, negative Nellie... and I don't want to be. So, I'm gonna go ahead and shut up now... watch this adorable commercial with this adorable little girl and her adorable teddy bear collection, (I had a massive one), and hope that things start to look a lot brighter sooner rather than later.

And why, for the love of God... can't we make commercials this cool in the US, (where they don't abuse CGI and don't tart the little girl up as my husband duly noted???)

Guest Post: My Awesome Friend Jen on How Parenting Has Changed Her

I met Jen my freshman year of college. She overheard me talking about the Barenaked Ladies - and that was it... we were fast friends. I'm thrilled to have her as a guest blogger today. Pictured is her chihuahua, who I've also had the pleasure of knowing since college - and her adorable little girl who sadly, I've not yet had the pleasure of meeting in person. Enjoy:

How has becoming a parent changed me?

Ha. Even in that question, I see humor. There's no way to delineate all of the ways it has. Basically - it's changed everything.

You see your friends become parents who do something to/for/with their kids that you wholeheartedly don't approve of and think - “Oh, I’ll never do that,” or you think the opposite - “Wow... they do that so well... Need to remember that one.” Well, now that I'm a parent, I can say that it has literally and figuratively brought me to my knees. I am truly humbled by the enormousness of it all while I am cleaning up my baby girl's poop from our semi-new carpet.

It's such a cliche, but when your friends say, “You never know what its like to be a parent until you become one,” you should take them very, very seriously.

Now that I'm a parent, I feel far less judgmental towards other parents, and fully understand how we’re really all just doing the best we can. Now that I'm a parent, I know that there is no such thing as a perfect parent. Now that I'm a parent, I've discovered that carving out time for myself just to think without someone asking me to play or participate is a huge challenge. Now that I'm a parent, I have experienced many nights of no sleep crying and praying... on my knees for my baby to get better and for a few hours of decent rest. Now that I'm a parent, I've loved how I've grown in my relationship with my partner Phil. Now that I'm a parent, I know how fallible I am.

This post could easily be a thousand pages long, if I continue to discuss how parenting has changed me - and Phil too. Ultimately, it has changed both of us tremendously. It has shaken us and thrilled us. We have gone from that terrifying feeling of having absolutely no idea of how to soothe a newborn, to the excitement of starting the whole process over again.

And the emotions... the range of emotions... is amazing.

I love to watch my husband marvel at our daughter.
I regret how I have occasionally lost my temper and cursed in front of my daughter. (Of course, I apologized).
I have tried to put myself in her shoes and ask myself what emotions like these could be like to a 2 year-old brain! I'm a therapist - and know that emotions are scary for anyone - but to a two year-old?!? As another mother told me you have to step back and recognize that it's important for a child to learn that there is a range of emotions and that the tough ones can be resolved.

My friend Leigh asks whether or not she should kid. Well, I certainly can't answer that for her. I will say, it's quite a balancing act... balancing time to connect with your partner, your child, your self. It isn't easy. Whoever said it is is lying. I think more people are acknowledging that now. I've read discussions about how hard parenting is these days... especially for women trying to "have it all," and recalling how the picture of parenting was always painted as blissful.

Parenting is not all bliss - but neither is life. Fortunately, dads today are far more involved in parenting than most of our fathers ever dreamed of being - and that does in fact make things easier.

So as for Leigh kidding - only she can make that decision. As for me, I've enjoyed the process of learning how to be a parent who doesn't beat themselves up, and respecting myself for doing the best that I can.

Does Anyone Have $20,000 to Spare?

Maria Menounos, Extra's co-host, just appeared on Good Morning America a few days ago to discuss her choice to freeze her eggs, because she's not ready for children yet. You can read all about it here:

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2011/09/26/maria-menounos-my-choice-to-freeze-my-eggs/


Well, I'm not ready for children either, but I don't have $20,000 laying around to set up "an insurance plan" as Maria aptly calls it.

John and I caught a bit of this segment, where they warned women about how much riskier pregnancies are once you hit 40+, and how much more difficult it becomes to conceive. I am all too well aware of this.

John looked at me and said, "maybe we should be doing that," to which I immediately replied, "We can't afford to." And, the sad fact is, that we just can't.

I know I've pretty much said I'm leaning towards adoption if we do kid, but I do have moments every-so-often where I kinda can't help but think a mini John/Leigh combo would be a hell of a lot of fun... boy or girl... though I would really, really be hoping for a girl...

And then my adorable thoughts are shattered by a barrage of horrifying ones:

1. I'm getting older... fast... and John and I are still not in a position to bring a new life into this world. Without freezing my eggs, we won't really have a choice other than adoption if we don't make up our minds about this kid thing within the next couple of years. That's not necessarily a bad thing - but I hate that the choice will have been made for me.

2. I'm petrified of giving birth. Positively petrified. Does anyone know anyone who's died giving birth? I'm serious. Anyone? I know this doesn't generally happen anymore - but it must happen sometimes, and someone's gotta draw that lucky number, right?

3. If I were to give birth, it would probably HAVE to be a C-section. Don't ask... just trust me on this one. Much like giving birth, I'm also petrified of surgery. What the hell is wrong with me?

4. I may be in the process of reinventing my career... again... something that kids really don't play into all that well.

5. What if we had a boy? I don't even know what I'd do with a male child. Part of me, (and part of John), would really hope that he would be the equivalent of Nate Berkus. It would make both of us feel much more comfortable with the whole thing.

Nevertheless, I'm still kind of having that freak-out moment about my eggs slowly rotting and thinking: Great... what next?

Two Little Girls???

Sometimes my husband surprises me, like he did this past weekend. We were at the beach, enjoying the ocean and watching these adorable little kids playing at the shoreline - and while I can't quote John verbatim, he said something along the lines of really needing two little girls if we're going to do the whole kidding thing at all.

What?!? Did I hear that correctly? Was he serious? Two?!? Two little girls?!? That never even really occurred to me. My immediate reaction was thus:

"You know then that if we adopt, we're going to want to adopt two at the same time, or we'll have to repeat the entire process all over again, which would mean another 2 trips to whichever country we potentially adopt from." This would translate to a grand total of 4 trips equivalent to approximately 64+ days of overseas travel.

John said, "I know."

I don't recall the conversation continuing much past that point, but I remember thinking that I never really gave serious thought to more than one child. I think I had ultimately ruled it out for a variety of reasons, (our age by the time we get around to this nonsense, cost, etc.)

Never gave it much thought at all, until now.

Now I'm thinking:

a) John's probably right.
b) How on earth would we manage two babies at once? How does anyone?
c) If we kid, when on earth are we going to be able to afford to?
d) Damn you crappy economy. Damn you.
e) If we kid, I would give ANYTHING to be a successful stay-at-home mom with a respectable income.
f) My poor puppies would be so confused by two tiny little people in the house that cry... a lot.
g) My puppies would really LOVE having two more people they can con into giving them excessive amounts of treats and belly rubs.
h) Maybe there's a wealthy distant relative I'm yet unaware of who is about to bequeath their entire estate to me when they keel over and die. (Did I just write that? Ugh, I'm definitely going to hell).
i) Would we adopt two little girls of different ages?
j) If we did adopt little girls of different ages, what is the cutoff? 2 years? 3?
k) Nature vs. nurture... this whole debate rages on, doesn't it? And if you miss the whole infancy bonding thing, what then? Are we screwed?
l) Los Angeles is very expensive - and filled with traffic - dangerous traffic - and I have a two seater car, that I bought one year ago. Ugh.
m) I can't believe I'm on the letter m

And on that note...

Evidently, Diet is a Bad, Bad Word and Someone's Getting a Lot of Undeserved Free PR

http://healthland.time.com/2011/08/25/will-fat-kids-become-popular-if-they-go-on-a-diet-maggie-goes-on-a-diet-makes-the-case/

Oh boy. Where to start? Well, I think those of you who read this blog regularly know that I have legitimate concerns about childhood obesity, because it is becoming rampant and it's one of the many reasons our entire healthcare system is going to eventually implode.

That said, in concept, there's nothing wrong with this book, yet everyone is completely up-in-arms about it - threatening to boycott anyone who sells it and insisting that the word diet is inappropriate for kids, that this book is going to make kids self-conscious and possibly trigger anorexia in kids who don't need to lose weight etc., etc. Oh please people. Get real. There are far too many fat kids in this country to ignore. It is an epidemic and it is a huge problem. We are not just talking 10 - 15 pounds overweight either. The numbers of children who are now classified as obese or morbidly obese is staggering. TONS OF KIDS IN THIS COUNTRY DO IN FACT NEED TO GO ON DIETS. Okay, okay, so the word diet has become inflammatory because we're all a bunch of pussies... so maybe the title of this book was not the smartest move on the writer's part, but that's not where I take issue.

I take issue that this book is getting so much free PR - and that it SUCKS.

Here's an excerpt:


Losing the weight was not only good for Maggie's health.

Maggie was so much happier and was also very proud of herself.

More and more people were beginning to know Maggie by name.

Playing soccer gave Maggie popularity and fame.



The rhyming is just atrocious! For those of you who aren't aware, I've written numerous rhymed children's books - and managed to get one published a while back, so I am incredibly nitpicky when it comes to others' rhymed works, especially children's fare, and especially because no publishers or agents will touch anything in rhyme with a ten foot pole, unless it's written by a celebrity. So, my books sit around collecting dust. I'm seriously contemplating sharing them here at some point or another. But I digress.

The author, Paul Kramer self-published this book. I believe it's his first. Not surprised that it's self-published - but I am surprised at how much free PR it's already getting before it's even out! How did this guy pull that off? I'm a publicist and I can't figure that one out. In the meantime I'm giving him more free PR. Can someone please explain to me where I've gone wrong in life? Please?!? And, can anyone reading this that's a parent explain to me why the publishing world won't consider well-written books in rhyme anymore? Wouldn't you read them to your kids, if the stories were good - and the rhyming was decent and maybe there was even an educational aspect to them? Or am I utterly and completely delusional as a non-parent?

Mommy Bloggers... AKA Coffee, Wine and Vodka Addicts

I have noticed a distinctive pattern amongst popular mommy bloggers. Virtually every single one of their Twitter account descriptions includes some derivation of the following:

wine drinker, wine lover, vino obsessed, coffee drinker, coffee lover, coffee obsessed, coffee freak - and then there's the occasional vodka lover -like @BringMommyVodka, whose latest post is a photo of her behind her "besties" the "sassy sixteen" that never let her down.

http://www.bringmommythevodka.com/

Anyway, I think it's quite intriguing that many of these women are literally defining themselves, (at least partially anyway), by what potentially addictive substances they're drinking. Is this a direct result of being a mom, or were they like this prior to birthing a child?

This kind of scares me for a multitude of reasons - particularly given the fact that many of them seem to like both - so I'm envisioning these women pounding coffee in the a.m. to get wired enough to take care of their children, (let alone themselves) and continuing to drink coffee throughout the day so they don't collapse from exhaustion from the previous night's over-consumption of wine and corresponding less-than-restful night's sleep. Mind you, the wine probably becomes essential to wind-down from the excessive caffeine imbibed to get them through their day. A vicious cycle, certainly.

The thing is, I kind-of get it. I have to imagine that if I already need wine at the end of the day, that need will only grow with the addition of children to the Fountain fam.

Perhaps we'll find out.

Quoted on cnn.com - but no mention of my blog. Darn.

Still cool though! Thanks Jessica Dickler!

http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/11/pf/recession_birth_rate/index.htm

Incorrigible Impatience and OCD are Totally Messing With My Head Today

I want a new post up... yesterday. Unfortunately, I am hell-bent on posting something extremely specific that I can't make work on my craptastic PC in the office, so I'm totally screwed. I've enlisted the help of my husband, who is quite willing, however he tried to fix the issue and quickly discovered that our insanely outdated mac laptops aren't exactly being compliant either. To boot, he's got a bit of the OCD too - and is working on a project far more important than my silly little blog to spend inordinate amounts of time trouble-shooting for me.

What's maddening is that once I get something into my head - I have to make it happen then and there. I am incredibly OCD-esque in this respect and incredibly impatient. It's a lethal combination. Hope I never have any desire to kill myself, 'cause I'd have at it right away. Fortunately, my overwhelming fear of death keeps that from being an issue. If it weren't however, I'd have to believe that my impatience would lead me to attempt it in far too hasty a manner and I'd wind up with a pathetically botched job anyway. Mangled and alive.

So, here I am with this insatiable desire to put something up - and the only thing I want to put up is being a huge pain in the ass. Thus, you get this random rant that really has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not I should have kids. Then again, maybe it does...

Hmm... patience... children?

Government Intervention for Obese Children... *Sigh*

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43727876/ns/health-health_care/

Ugh. This is one of those issues where there's just no great solution - and unfortunately, the children lose no matter what.

Everybody knows that we, as a country, are getting fatter, but as this article states, "What's even worse is the epidemic of blubber among children. Obesity rates have skyrocketed among the nation's kids in the past two decades. Nearly 32 percent of U.S. children ages 2 to 19 are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fully 12 percent have topped the category of extreme obesity. That's a lot of heavy kids."

It is a lot of heavy kids. And this article raises a great question: Whether or not severely obese children should be removed from their homes because their parents are contributing to the problem by essentially abusing their children through overfeeding.

We're all accustomed to children being removed from homes because of malnourishment/starvation, but "overfeeding" is new. It seems jarring for a moment to think of it as child abuse, but in essence, it is. The parents of these kids are clearly negligent. They are ignoring the fact that their offspring are unhealthy and undoubtedly going to develop horrible complications/comorbidities including diabetes, strokes, heart attacks, cancer, depression and arthritis. I would classify that as abusive. When you think of it in those terms, it is incredibly disheartening to realize then, that approximately 12% of the nation's parents have abused their children in this manner. What's even more disheartening is that I would venture to guess that the parents themselves are obese, so chances are they will ultimately orphan their children.

Here's one of the primary problems with the idea of using child abuse laws to remove extremely obese children from their homes. The article also sites the fact that social services is already overloaded. 12% of the nation's children = 2 million with a BMI over the 99th percentile. This is where I become a frustrated citizen. Clearly, there needs to be some type of intervention to get these kids on the right track, and clearly something needs to be done about the parents who allow their children to get this unhealthy, but our country can't afford to do anything - and even if it could, and I am sick and tired of our government having to resort to intervening in matters such as this because there is no such thing as personal responsibility anymore. It is INFURIATING. These parents are criminals.

What's even more disheartening is that chances are, the majority of these kids will be obese adults, which means our already defunct healthcare system is only gonna get worse. Can't wait for those insurance premiums to skyrocket...again... and I can't get in to see a doctor for a few months because they're too busy dealing with millions upon millions of coronaries and diabetics - many of whom will be kids.

Look, I know I must sound like a super-conservative callous bitch, but seriously folks. Should we really need the government to intervene because parents can't take care of their children??? Who lets their child become obese? And look, I understand what it is to be overweight, (I've struggled myself as I've mentioned before), but extremely obese? There's NO excuse when it comes to children. If I were to kid, and my child was starting to get a bit chubby, I, as a responsible parent, would address it STAT.

Remember that line in Parenthood, (the movie) - "You know, Mrs. Buckman, you need a license to buy a dog, to drive a car - hell, ... to catch a fish. But they'll let any butt-reaming asshole be a father."

Clearly any butt-reaming anything can be a parent - as evidenced by our nation's kids. They are not extremely obese because they wanted to be - of that I am certain.

So what is the solution? I have no idea - though obtaining licenses to have children doesn't sound so bad, even though it's just another indication that we are incapable of taking care of ourselves. Pathetic.

Comments, insults and attacks welcome as always.

Making Your Own Rules

So John and I were discussing a variety of topics recently, and one of the major conclusions we've come to, particularly after the nonsense we went through losing our jobs, the house, etc., is that we have to:

a) make our own rules and

b) be confident in doing so

The more I think about this, the more I realize it is so ridiculously true. If we look to our friends and family and feel any pressures to do as they have done or as they hope we will do, we are only harming ourselves. Hippocrates said it best, "One man's meat is another man's poison."

So today, I am celebrating my husband's and my liberation from the norm and the expected or required.

We will do as we see fit and that will be more than good enough for us... and I would only wish the same for any children that we may or may not have.

That all said, Crazy Munchface here is lethally cute.

It's been a year!

Well, a year and two days since I started this blog on Mother's Day of 2010.

How time flies.

Mother's Day is interesting to me for a variety of reasons. This year, it was particularly interesting on account of the fact that immediately prior, I wasn't on speaking terms with either of my parents.

The day I wrote my last post about that little issue, John pointed out that it was clearly eating at me, and that I should probably just be the one to extend the olive branch, even if I wasn't the one at fault.

So, I slept on it, (essentially knowing he was right), and decided to give my mom a ring the next morning. Needless to say, this made her incredibly happy.

Anyway, I came home feeling better - and was greeted by John and the puppies, who had purchased flowers and a little gift for me - to celebrate mommy day, (that's the one for pups).

LOVED IT.

That being said, one year later, and while we're pretty certain that if we kid, we'll be adopting, and we're relatively certain that we will eventually want to take the plunge, we're still not 100% certain about anything - and therefore have absolutely no idea when it even might happen. Circumstances are still a bit too volatile... and thus the blog lives on.

Parents should PARENT

http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/04/19/granderson.children.dress/index.html?hpt=P1&iref=NS1





I think this gent sums it up quite nicely.

Parents should parent.

I know we will if we opt to kid.