I went back to work last week. I wasn’t excited about it, mostly because I greatly enjoyed the routine I was in while staying home. We found an excellent daycare provider for Robbie and we know that McKenna will adjust in due time.
The first week went by without a hitch. Kids were great, I was right back into the routine and before I knew it, it was Friday. When I arrived at daycare to kick off the weekend with my kids, Robbie was in Miss Gretchen’s arms, smiling at me as he normally does when he sees me or Rob. He looked happy, though a little tired. She told me that he had a great day for the most part, but there was “an incident”. She proceeded to tell me that a two and a half year old accidentally backed up and tripped over him, landing on him. She said Robbie got really mad, had a little blood from his lip, but stopped crying rather quickly. “He’ll be tougher for it. I’ve backed up and tripped over McKenna. It happens and he seems fine.” She proceeded to tell me yet again what an easy going boy he is. I agreed. We said our goodbyes and I put Robbie in the car. He chatted with me for a few minutes before he started to show signs of sleepiness. Before I knew it, he was fast asleep.
After 45 minutes, I got to McKenna’s school. It was quite dark outside because it was already 5:05. I got a spot right in front of the door to the room where McKenna has aftercare and McKenna came out, jumped in the car and we went home. She and I were talking as I picked up Robbie with him asleep on my shoulder and we went inside. I quickly placed him down while I ran into the bathroom. Once I finished my business, I went to go pick up Robbie. I looked down and there was blood everywhere! On his hands, his face, dribbling down his chin, all over his shirt, some on his jacket. He was a mess!
My shocked reaction was met with a smile, a bloody, twisted smile. “What happened to you?” was all I could muster up. Is something wrong with me? I thought. Why I am not in total panic like I was with McKenna? Am I so enamored with his big eyes and beautiful red hair that I’ve become complacent? I cleaned him up and tried to find where the blood was coming from. Definitely his mouth. Lower…no…upper…no…lower…no…upper. He doesn’t even have any teeth! What the heck happened? After about 20 minutes of blood pouring out, a good amount of which he swallowed, I called the Ms. Gretchen.
Me: Hi…it’s Shelley Moore, Robbie’s mom.
Gretchen: Oh, hi! How are you?
Me: (nervous laugh) Well, I can’t get Robbie to stop bleeding and I…
Gretchen: WHAT?! (no doubt picturing a lawsuit).
Me: Well, I’m just trying to find out, where exactly did this kid fall on him?
Gretchen: (stumbling) He just backed up…and landed on his face. I mean, he bled a little, but it was done in about five minutes!
Me: Well, I have him sucking on a wet washcloth. I think it’s coming from the upper part of his mouth but I can’t tell.
Gretchen: I couldn’t see anything either, but he stopped bleeding pretty quickly, so I didn’t investigate more.
Me: Okay…listen, he seems fine so don’t worry. I just wanted to see if maybe the kid landed on his stomach and he was spitting up blood.
Gretchen: No, it was definitely his face…oh my gosh…did you call his doctor? You should probably call.
We quickly said our goodbyes and I look down a Robbie swallowing some more blood. He LOVES blood! Oh my God…he’s Hannibal Lechter! I’ve given birth to a cannibal!!! I then quickly called the doctor’s office. After talking with the late night staff, we determined it was best to go to the hospital. I quickly clipped his nails (bad mommy) and off we went. Sort of…
McKenna: What about my dinner?
Me: If you were covered in blood and Robbie didn’t want to go with me to get you fixed up because he wanted dinner, how would you feel?
McKenna: (pause) But…what about my dinner?
Me: Here…
McKenna munched on tortilla chips all the way to hospital. Of course, by the time we got found a parking spot and physically got to the E.R., Robbie was once again covered in blood.
The security guard yelled for help, fellow E.R. patients offered up seats, and I just said, “Really, I think it’s worse than it looks.” Once everyone saw him smiling, with blood coming out, people relaxed. This includes the guy in triage who signed us in while speaking in a perfect Donald Duck voice. He got wide eyes from McKenna and blood gurgling giggles from Robbie. The doctors (yes, we had two of them!) saw us fairly quickly and informed us that Robbie had ripped open his frenulum, the little thing that hangs down from the upper gums in the mouth. The kid who fell on him probably started it, but because I hadn’t clipped his nails, he continued the damage every time he put his hands in his mouth. Bad mommy, indeed…
We were in and out of the hospital in less than two hours. I called back Ms. Gretchen, who had called for an update (and a little comfort which I provided), and McKenna and I finally had dinner at 9:00. Our usual Friday night movie was watching Barack Obama’s victory speech (her choice...she loves the line when he says his girls get a puppy). Thanks to the nail clippers, some antibiotics and time, he is fully recovered. As for me, well…I will enjoy a nice glass of chianti while waiting to have a friend for dinner.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
From the Mouths of Babes
While I continue to work on two other entries, I wanted to share this quick exchange McKenna and I just had.
Rob walks into the room, sees us laughing and walks out.
Me: I think he'd rather look at the Internet.
McKenna: We are SO much more interesting than the Internet. Trust me!
Rob walks into the room, sees us laughing and walks out.
Me: I think he'd rather look at the Internet.
McKenna: We are SO much more interesting than the Internet. Trust me!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Our Future is Right In Front of Us
My daughter, McKenna, is six and a half going on 18. Her fascination with politics began about a year ago when she overheard my mom and I discussing why we preferred different candidates, my mother with Hillary and me with Barack. McKenna asked a lot of questions and learned that no matter what, it was cool because it was a woman running against an African-American (politics in the simplest yet most complex of terms).
Then about 6 months ago we took her to Borders and told her she could choose any two books. She picked out "Fancy Nancy Goes to the Museum" and "Barack Obama: An American Tale". To my surprise, she wanted us to read the Obama book to her first. So we did.
As the election grew near, she questioned Grammie on why she was now an Obama "fan" and not a Hillary fan anymore. Grammie did a nice job explaining it. I soon explained to McKenna that I wouldn't be home on certain nights so I could go do some work for Obama's campaign. We talked about problems we face as a country and how I felt about his approaches to improving them.
Before we knew it, Election Day was here. The whole family got up at 5:45am and got to the polls by 6:15. We excitingly waited for 45 minutes to cast our vote. I was thrilled when they allowed McKenna to come into the booth with me so she could watch me cast my vote for the first African-American president. She clapped when it was done.
She took a long nap later that afternoon and begged us to let her stay up to watch the returns. We were so happy with her interest that we agreed. So there we all were, watching three hours of television and talking about things while McKenna helped my husband organize papers he was grading (he's a teacher, too). She kept chiming in with comments like, "Uh-oh! It looks like John McCain is going to win West Virginia...yup...he won it," and "Yes! Obama wins Pennsylvania! That's HUGE! Right, mom?"
By 10:50, we told McKenna she had to go to bed and she did so, as did I, both of us quite reluctantly. No more than 15 minutes later, Rob woke us up to tell us the news. She started clapping and leapt out of bed to run downstairs and watch the people celebrating.
This morning, she was still buzzing with excitement, but it was almost as if she became a pundit herself. "Now, let's just hope he can fix the economy and put the troops in the right country." Wow...she really listened.
Of course, the little princess had one final word, "And you know what, mom? He is soooooooo handsome!"
Then about 6 months ago we took her to Borders and told her she could choose any two books. She picked out "Fancy Nancy Goes to the Museum" and "Barack Obama: An American Tale". To my surprise, she wanted us to read the Obama book to her first. So we did.
As the election grew near, she questioned Grammie on why she was now an Obama "fan" and not a Hillary fan anymore. Grammie did a nice job explaining it. I soon explained to McKenna that I wouldn't be home on certain nights so I could go do some work for Obama's campaign. We talked about problems we face as a country and how I felt about his approaches to improving them.
Before we knew it, Election Day was here. The whole family got up at 5:45am and got to the polls by 6:15. We excitingly waited for 45 minutes to cast our vote. I was thrilled when they allowed McKenna to come into the booth with me so she could watch me cast my vote for the first African-American president. She clapped when it was done.
She took a long nap later that afternoon and begged us to let her stay up to watch the returns. We were so happy with her interest that we agreed. So there we all were, watching three hours of television and talking about things while McKenna helped my husband organize papers he was grading (he's a teacher, too). She kept chiming in with comments like, "Uh-oh! It looks like John McCain is going to win West Virginia...yup...he won it," and "Yes! Obama wins Pennsylvania! That's HUGE! Right, mom?"
By 10:50, we told McKenna she had to go to bed and she did so, as did I, both of us quite reluctantly. No more than 15 minutes later, Rob woke us up to tell us the news. She started clapping and leapt out of bed to run downstairs and watch the people celebrating.
This morning, she was still buzzing with excitement, but it was almost as if she became a pundit herself. "Now, let's just hope he can fix the economy and put the troops in the right country." Wow...she really listened.
Of course, the little princess had one final word, "And you know what, mom? He is soooooooo handsome!"
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
I've Made It Through the Rain
Cheerleading is over. It ended today, Sunday, October 26th, 2008 at 9:54am and I think it's over for good.
I say "I think" for a few reasons. We still have a banquet to attend in November and McKenna still has thank you cards to write to her coaches. I also say "I think" it's over because it's slowly ocurred to me that should McKenna ask to cheerlead again next year, I will not be able to say "no". I can say no to Pop Warner, easily. But can I really tell my child "no" to doing something she enjoys? At some point, I have to trust her to make the right choices, in essence, I have to trust me and Rob on how we have parented her.
For the next 10 months, therefore, we have decided to fill her time and brain with other things. Sunday morning cheerleading is being replaced by church attendance and Sunday school. Her cute little uniform will be replaced with a leotard or jazz pants for either ballet lessons or musical theater class respectively (she thinks she wants musical theater and who am I to argue). Supporting a team will come in the form of helping us with Robbie, cleaning the house and assisting us with cooking dinner.
Am I a prude? Perhaps...but every parent should be, because in our prudishness, she knows that she is loved.
I say "I think" for a few reasons. We still have a banquet to attend in November and McKenna still has thank you cards to write to her coaches. I also say "I think" it's over because it's slowly ocurred to me that should McKenna ask to cheerlead again next year, I will not be able to say "no". I can say no to Pop Warner, easily. But can I really tell my child "no" to doing something she enjoys? At some point, I have to trust her to make the right choices, in essence, I have to trust me and Rob on how we have parented her.
For the next 10 months, therefore, we have decided to fill her time and brain with other things. Sunday morning cheerleading is being replaced by church attendance and Sunday school. Her cute little uniform will be replaced with a leotard or jazz pants for either ballet lessons or musical theater class respectively (she thinks she wants musical theater and who am I to argue). Supporting a team will come in the form of helping us with Robbie, cleaning the house and assisting us with cooking dinner.
Am I a prude? Perhaps...but every parent should be, because in our prudishness, she knows that she is loved.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
She's Friggin' Six!!!
As we all know, I am not a fan of cheerleading. I am a fan of McKenna, however, so when she asked me to sign her up for Pop Warner cheerleading, I obliged.
PROBLEM 1: Cheer: "We're gonna' pick up the pace, so put your foot on the gas, cause we're gonna' kick you in the _____." (rhymes with gas).
Yes, I have a problem with teaching that to 6-year olds, and yes, I said something to the commisioner of the Pop Warner league. Her response: "Oh, the Rockets are doing that? They're not supposed to do it this year. It's for next year." Right, teaching that to 7-year olds is much better...
PROBLEM 2: One of the football coaches is a complete asshole. He yells in the kids' faces at point blank range. Oh, did I mention that the kids are 6 years old? Recently, he was yelling at his son for not paying attention to what he was saying. He then took a swing at the boy as if to kick him, but the kid ran away (Dad ran a few steps after him, but realized it probably wasn't a good idea to do in public). You should know that I'm not sitting by and doing nothing about it. I just need to calm down before I talk to the president of league. As long as Pop Warner accepts the behaviors of that man, they will never get a dime out of me and I will make sure everyone I talk to knows what type of organization Washington Rock Pop Warner is.
PROBLEM 3: McKenna got her cheerleading pics taken. We decided to order just her picture with her on the cover of a magazine (a pretend magazine). The article titles were "Interview with McKenna Moore", "Name Her Moves", "Find Out How She Does It" and "#1 Squad in the State". Very cute. I then read the last title: "Check Out Page 41! Hot! Hot! Hot!" Now, I'm sure there are those of you out there that don't see this as a problem (my guess is that you're a man...). This, however, is a blatant sexualization of girls. Why not something like, "Learn Her Workout Habits" or "Check Out Her Reading List"? I know, some of you are thinking what a prude I've become and have possibly laughed out loud when reading the previous sentence. My question to you would be why is it funny to you? Why do you think I might be unrealistic? Just because "it's everywhere" doesn't mean we have to just stand by and let it be. I called the photography studio and asked for that particular headline to be removed. "Why? What does it say?" When I informed them of their own product and what was written on the magazine cover, the response was, "Really? That's odd? It is obviously referring to her.* Can we get you something else?"
This desensitization to how we treat young girls angers me to no end!!! After a brief verbal kick in the ass to the WOMAN on the other end of the phone, she finally said, "You know, you're right. Maybe we should order a new template." I doubt that will happen.
I think I'm going to start a campaign to call for an end to this type of marketing. Maybe there's already an organization out there. I'll have to check into it and post it on the site. Meanwhile, I look forward to receiving a free 8x10 of McKenna without her being referred to as "Hot! Hot! Hot!"
* Rob, I told you so ;-)
PROBLEM 1: Cheer: "We're gonna' pick up the pace, so put your foot on the gas, cause we're gonna' kick you in the _____." (rhymes with gas).
Yes, I have a problem with teaching that to 6-year olds, and yes, I said something to the commisioner of the Pop Warner league. Her response: "Oh, the Rockets are doing that? They're not supposed to do it this year. It's for next year." Right, teaching that to 7-year olds is much better...
PROBLEM 2: One of the football coaches is a complete asshole. He yells in the kids' faces at point blank range. Oh, did I mention that the kids are 6 years old? Recently, he was yelling at his son for not paying attention to what he was saying. He then took a swing at the boy as if to kick him, but the kid ran away (Dad ran a few steps after him, but realized it probably wasn't a good idea to do in public). You should know that I'm not sitting by and doing nothing about it. I just need to calm down before I talk to the president of league. As long as Pop Warner accepts the behaviors of that man, they will never get a dime out of me and I will make sure everyone I talk to knows what type of organization Washington Rock Pop Warner is.
PROBLEM 3: McKenna got her cheerleading pics taken. We decided to order just her picture with her on the cover of a magazine (a pretend magazine). The article titles were "Interview with McKenna Moore", "Name Her Moves", "Find Out How She Does It" and "#1 Squad in the State". Very cute. I then read the last title: "Check Out Page 41! Hot! Hot! Hot!" Now, I'm sure there are those of you out there that don't see this as a problem (my guess is that you're a man...). This, however, is a blatant sexualization of girls. Why not something like, "Learn Her Workout Habits" or "Check Out Her Reading List"? I know, some of you are thinking what a prude I've become and have possibly laughed out loud when reading the previous sentence. My question to you would be why is it funny to you? Why do you think I might be unrealistic? Just because "it's everywhere" doesn't mean we have to just stand by and let it be. I called the photography studio and asked for that particular headline to be removed. "Why? What does it say?" When I informed them of their own product and what was written on the magazine cover, the response was, "Really? That's odd? It is obviously referring to her.* Can we get you something else?"
This desensitization to how we treat young girls angers me to no end!!! After a brief verbal kick in the ass to the WOMAN on the other end of the phone, she finally said, "You know, you're right. Maybe we should order a new template." I doubt that will happen.
I think I'm going to start a campaign to call for an end to this type of marketing. Maybe there's already an organization out there. I'll have to check into it and post it on the site. Meanwhile, I look forward to receiving a free 8x10 of McKenna without her being referred to as "Hot! Hot! Hot!"
* Rob, I told you so ;-)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
I'm In Love...
...with the rantings/clarifications of writer Tim Wise. This is for anyone who chooses participate in this year's presidential election. I would honestly love to hear your thoughts, for or against. You know where I stand...
Please click this link for a quick read (if nothing else, you'll understand my thoughts and feelings): http://www.redroom.com/blog/tim-wise/this-your-nation-white-privilege
Thanks for sending it Mom!
Please click this link for a quick read (if nothing else, you'll understand my thoughts and feelings): http://www.redroom.com/blog/tim-wise/this-your-nation-white-privilege
Thanks for sending it Mom!
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