Life lessons on Racheal Ray

I was watching Racheal Ray the other day (see what I did there?) and she had Leah Remini on from King of Queens on. It was interesting because she wasn't interviewing her so much as sharing her story about her daughter.

See, her daughter is 3 1/2 and is STILL ON THE BOTTLE!!

She made many self-deprecating remarks about how she and her husband are horrible parents and they do everything wrong. For instance, her daughter has THREE rooms, yet where does she sleep? Right between Mommy & Daddy in their bed.

Not only that, but she goes through SIX bottles filled with water every night. Six bottles every hour or two - all night long.

Leah made the comment that she's very consistent; she gives in all the time. She seemed proud of the fact that her daughter ruled the house.

She kept saying that she had to "follow her heart" and having her daughter cry because she wanted the bottle seemed wrong. "After all", she said, "what could it hurt?"

She talked to her pediatrician who only addressed the fact that most children are off of the bottle by 12-18 months. (Remini was aghast at that and didn't seem to believe it.) She even let a 'regular' mom come in and give her some pointers about taking the nipple off of the bottle and giving it to her daughter that way.

It didn't work. Remini couldn't bear to listen to her daughter cry. She was happy at least that they went through 2 less bottles that night. Nobody informed her that the daughter still won.

What struck me through the whole show - and what nobody else was saying - was the real issue wasn't bottles; it was who was in charge. The daughter is indeed ruling the house and her parents seem oblivious that this shouldn't be the case. She has figured out how to get her way and she has become a master manipulator in the process.

Don't get me wrong - I don't blame the child one bit. She's figured out how to get her own way and her parents are reinforcing this message every minute of the day.

I see a burgeoning Paris Hilton in our midst.

My new hobby

There have been some really good comments on the "Hospitals are our friends" post. If you haven't read the post or the comments, please take some time to check it out.

And I always welcome comments!

Change of pace now.

So I'm at the gym this morning at the unholy hour of 5:15am. I know, I know, I'm weird. But if it doesn't get done in the morning, it doesn't get done.

I am a completely inappropriate people watcher! That is what I've learned about myself in the past month since joining the gym. I cannot stop watching other people.

There's a guy there who is strangely flexible. He leans over with his feet out and puts his face between his knees so it is touching the mat. Meanwhile I'm struggling at an 84 degree angle. I look like I'm merely resting, while my hamstrings are on fire. Sweet mother.

I always wonder what people are up to when I see them at the gym. Where do they work? What time do they have to be there? How long have they been working out? Is their spouse taking care of the kiddoes? Do they return the favor in the afternoon and let him/her work out then?

There's a few older women who are there regularly in the morning. I think that's awesome and I hope I'm in that good of shape when I'm their age. Heck - they're kicking my tail now and I'm probably thirty years younger than they are!

It's a good thing I'm so self-confident because if I see one more 7-month-pregnant woman kicking my booty on the elliptical machine, I'm going to scream! So far the count is up to three. I had no idea so many pregnant women - REALLY pregnant women - worked out so hard on the cardio. I think Stan walked around the block with me a few times and that was it. Of course, that thinking is probably what got me so out of shape in the first place!

I would do it completely differently

My wedding, that is.

I wouldn't have the extremely traditional wedding dress. I got married in July for pete's sake & I had the whole poufy shoulders, long sleeves, and cathedral train.

Good grief.

I wouldn't have the corkscrew curls that hairdressers do so generically. I would have something more soft and natural - more me.

I wouldn't get married inside of a church. I would do it outside under some trees and near water. Not sure where this perfect location is (or how much it would cost!) but I would definitely try to find it.

I would get married in the evening. The July sun was a killer and under a shade tree at 8:00 would've been much better.

I wouldn't care how my bridesmaids did their hair. I can't believe I wasted valuable time worrying and thinking about that.

For that matter, I wouldn't care about their dresses. I would give them a color and tell them to go get what they wanted.

I would've had a 'food' reception. We were trying to save money, but if I could do it over again, I would have some kind of buffet set up - again, very casual.

Anything you would do differently???

Uncle Terry uncled his nose...

Isn't Anezka's little dutch girl dress precious???

Saturday was one of those days to relax, reconnect, and laugh with family. We had a blast at my in-laws' house. We got to spend time with Stan's sister, Sheila - not an easy feat since she married a navy man. We got to laugh at Gerrit, Caden's older cousin by 4 months - he and Caden had fun running around being silly. And we got to snuggle with Anezka, the newest cousin, who's 6 months old.

We found out when we got there that Uncle Terry and Gerrit had been in a go-cart accident a few days before. Uncle Terry had stitches in his nose (hence the title; that's what Caden said today when I asked him if he had fun yesterday!) and Gerrit hurt his right arm a bit. He didn't want to use it too much, but then he and Caden would get to wrestling and he would forget that it was hurt.

The goal was to get all of the grandkids together for a nice picture before Sheila and Terry move to Washington (state), but alas, the two older cousins had prior commitments. So...we decked the remaining 3 out and snapped pictures outside my in-laws' house. It was a hoot. A 3-year-old, a 2 1/2-year-old, and a 6-month-old - can you imagine? We'd get one set up and looking good and then Caden or Gerrit would jump up to see what the picture we had just taken looked like. Sheila was trying to hold Anezka because Caden and Gerrit were having none of it. Gerrit didn't want to get dirty so we couln't put them in front of the tree. Nobody would be still and smile at the same time, and the adults barely got in any good pictures because we were laughing so hard!

I miss spending quality time with that part of the family and I wish they lived closer - BUT! - it is fun to travel and visit them wherever they are stationed. So far, we've made it to Pensacola, FL; Charleston, SC; and Memphis, TN. We had tickets to go to Connecticut to see them there, but that was the day after the BIIIG power outage across the country and it was a big rigamarow, so we had to cancel that trip. I'm still a bit bitter.

So...even though we wished they lived closer, we are already planning the Washington trip to go visit them!

We love you Uncle Terry, Aunt Sheila, silly Gerrit, and snuggly Anezka! We'll see you soon!!!