Simple Pleasures Monday - Midnight Movies

Having a baby really messes with your sleep. Camden is 10.5 months old and still doesn't sleep through the night - mainly because we have allowed certain habits to develop and persist. Because of this, we often find ourselves wide awake in the middle of the night. Either Camden wakes us up or our internal Cam-o-meter goes off at the time he usually wakes and we're up. We'll toss and turn trying to go back to sleep, but some nights it just doesn't happen. Mark and I have developed a little routine on nights when we just can't get back to sleep. We watch movies together.

I've come to look forward to our midnight movies. Sure I don't want to be awake in the middle of the night every night, but once in awhile, it's fun to have that extra cuddle time together. Between both of us working (me days and Mark mostly evenings) and Mark going to school full time, our time together alone is limited. We're usually spending time as a family with Camden, which we love. But sometimes we crave that time alone together - without talk of Cam, bills, school, work, etc. And this middle of the night movie has allowed us to have some of that back.

Last night was one of those nights. We had gone to sleep at 9 pm (Yeah, we're real party animals staying up late like that). Around 11 pm, Cam woke up and was having a hard time getting back to sleep and staying asleep. So instead of bouncing in and out of sleep a million times to check on him, we popped in a movie. Occasionally we had to pause the movie as we checked on Cam as he fussed himself back to sleep, but we were able to cuddle for a little bit, laugh, and have some fun together. After the movie was over, we went back to sleep. I'm a bit tired today, but wouldn't trade that extra time with Mark for anything. So one of my new favorite simple pleasures is midnight movies with Mark.

Blogger block

I'm not sure what is going on this week. I have a whole list of ideas for blogs. I write blogs in my head at night. Things happen and I think, "This is so bloggable." But then when it comes time to actually blog, I have brain farts. My brain just shoots it all out my ears and I can't get it back. Every day this week it has been a struggle to blog. I love my blog! I love to read other blogs! I love the blogging world. So what is wrong with me? Why when I am in front of the screen does my brain squirt any intelligent or even not so intelligent idea out of my head? I think I could blame it on tiredness, but I've been tired before and been ok.

Have you experienced blogger block? How long did it last? And how did you overcome it? Tell me your blogger block stories if you have them.

I'm taking a short weekend break. Hopefully next week I will be back to my blogging self. Until then, don't abandon me, my loyal readers and commenters.

Double Standards

Excuse me if I vent and rant a little today. There are a few things in my life I am passionate about - my family, my religion, education. I'm also passionate about a few issues. One of those related to children is car seats and car seat safety. Maybe I am just a paranoid fanatic. Maybe it's because my husband and I know what it is like to lose a child (not in a car accident, but the thought of losing another in any way freaks me out). Maybe I am just crazy (a likely possibility). But car seat and car seat safety are very important to me.

Mark and I researched car seats carefully before purchasing one. We checked Consumer Reports, read reviews, talked to others. We took the time to have both our car seats professionally installed. We learned all we could about the proper use and restraint of a car seat. We've done some research and have decided to keep Camden rear facing until he is at least 2 if at all possible. We want to keep Camden as safe as possible in our car.

So it drives me crazy when I see people ignore the importance of car seats, booster seats, and proper restraint. I bite my tongue because I am not a confrontational person, but I silently scream inside. I know I need to speak up more about this if I feel strongly and I intend to in the future. The other day my mother in law came over to pick up my sister in law (the one not on bedrest) and her 5 month old son. She also picked up my other sister in law's (the one on bedrest) two children and took them all back to her house - 30 minutes away. The only one properly restrained was the 5 month old. The other two children - ages 5 and 4 - were placed in regular seat belts with no booster seat of any kind. The 4 year old was also placed in the front seat. As I watched them drive away, I turned to Mark and said, "I am never letting Camden ride with your mom. And I should have said something about K in the front seat."

Now comes the one that really annoys me. Camden is in daycare about two days a week. The past few weeks, when I have come to pick up Camden, there is a local police officer there picking up his son who is probably 4 or 5 in age. He picks up his son in his city issued police cruiser. Each week I watch this officer place his son in the car and drive off. I've looked and not seen any sort of car seat or booster seat. It has bothered me, thinking his son is not properly restrained, but I wanted to make sure I was right that there wasn't any sort of proper restraint in his police cruiser. Yesterday, the officer was there again. This time I decided to walk by his car on my way out with Cam and look carefully. And sure enough, there is no type of booster seat anywhere in his police cruiser. I watched as the officer came out with his boy. I watched as he placed his son in the front seat, fastened the regular seat belt (at least he did that), and drove off. This is an officer people! In his uniform and in his police cruiser! Shouldn't he have to obey the law?

I wrote down his license plate down yesterday. And today I am debating - should I call this in and report it? I really want to for many reasons. One, if that was me not restraining my son properly or placing him in the front seat, I'd be pulled over and ticketed, no matter how close to the daycare center I may live. Two, as an officer, shouldn't he uphold the law and set an example, especially in his cruiser and in uniform when doing this? Three, what if something happened to his son? Could I live with myself? But part of me holds back. Mainly because I am nonconfrontational type of person and it is hard for me to do things like that. Also I am afraid of retribution. This is a small town and the good ole boy network is still very much in effect out here. If I report him, will he start watching for me and looking for reasons to pull me over?

This has bothered me for days now, wondering how he can get away with this. And I think he needs to know people are noticing and it is not all right. If he weren't in his uniform and police cruiser, I don't think I'd be so upset. But I feel he needs to be an example to others. If people seeing an officer doing it, won't they think they can do it? I don't want to get this officer in trouble, but I do want him to know people look to him as an example of following the law.

My questions for you today - what would you do in this situation? And what issues are you passionate about? Share with me!

Ritual Sacrifices

First of all, I am sorry for the long break. We've had a bunch of stuff going on lately from a major growth spurt for Camden (drank 11 oz before bed the other night!) which has has him waking up and wanting more food in the night, to a sister in law with premature labor and now on strict bed rest so the family rallied and is taking care of her other kids and making meals, to a major attack of pain for me that had me taking 4 Percocet pills in 8 hours and finally having the pain go away on the 4th pill. Fun and games huh? But I am back! I've missed you all! I have many blogs to read today and catch up on, many comments to post, but surprisingly, not many things of my own to blog (although I may surprise myself).

Second of all, thank you all for the award of best commenter. I know it is only because of all you who voted for me. My sincere thanks! I love your blogs and I love reading.

Now, onto the real blog.

Camden is only 10 months old, but he is already worshipping false gods. I've tried to teach him right, but I am not sure where I went wrong. Every night, he worships this false god. He does it sometimes even multiple times during the night. It happens with almost every nap. What is it? It's the pacifier gods.

Camden is addicted to his paci. Yeah, I know it's a bad habit I'll have to break later, but the paci has been a good friend of ours over the months. At night and for each nap, we put Cam down to sleep with two pacifiers - one in his mouth and one for him to hold. This way when he wakes early or if one falls out of his mouth, he has another right at his disposal (And then we don't have to get up to pacify him in the night). But there must be pacifier gods that live behind his crib. They must taunt him as he goes to sleep until he makes a ritual sacrifice.

Without fail, the paci he is holding is sacrificed to these gods in the first 15 minutes of either his nap or bedtime. All of a sudden, you hear a familiar PLUNK as the paci is dropped behind the crib. Then he will cry until we give him another one for him to hold. Sometimes the pacifier gods must require more than one sacrifice before Cam can sleep, because he'll drop another one, and another, and on nights like last night, another one before he can sleep. We keep a stack of pacifiers on his dresser - usually 6 or 7. And then we'll hand him another and another, hoping on a rough night that we will not run out.

With Camden making his sacrificial offerings, we end up pulling out the crib each morning and after each nap to rescue these pacifiers. It's quite the routine - he drops, we rescue. I'm hoping that when we send him to a 12 step pacifier program when he turns 1, the pacifier gods will leave Camden alone and he will stop worshipping such false gods. Until then, I hope my son hasn't been led too far astray by these false gods.

The great controversy - is white chocolate really chocolate?

There have been many posts out there about people who want others to clearly state their beliefs so they know where a person stands before they will read or post on their blog. So I take that challenge in hand today and firmly declare my belief that white chocolate is really not chocolate. White chocolate should not be allowed to use the word "chocolate" in its title.

This website and this one detail the differences between regular chocolate and white chocolate. Regular chocolate has cocoa powder, chocolate liquor, and cocoa butter. White chocolate only has cocoa butter from that list of ingredients. C'mon people! Chocolate needs to have more than cocoa butter. It needs to have that rich, chocolate liquor to give it that yummy chocolate flavor. Even the FDA doesn't classify white chocolate as a real chocolate.

White chocolate doesn't even taste like chocolate. It's like yogurt. Eating a pretzel dipped in white chocolate is the same (to me) as eating a pretzel dipped in yogurt. Why deprive yourself of the whole chocolate experience and settle for something so clearly second rate?

So today I challenge you to declare your beliefs. Where do you stand on the topic of white chocolate? Tell me all about your chocolate views in my comments section. I promise to not slam you for your beliefs. I will just classify you as one of those weird white chocolate loving fanatics. ;) I'll be here, sitting in my corner eating Hershey kisses, reveling in all the REAL chocolate goodness.

Baby want to be

Before continuing with today's regularly scheduled post, I want to thank all who voted for me in the Share the Love awards. I made it to the top five finalists in "Best Commenter" category. Please head over there sometime this week and give your final votes. There are so many wonderful blogs. Be sure to check them out.

Camden turned 10 months over the weekend. I cannot believe time has gone by so fast! We only have a few more months till that big first birthday.

During Cam's ninth month of life, he decided to start exploring future career options. Yeah, we start them early in our home. Don't want any shiftless sponges living with us at 21. ;) Here are some of the many career choices Camden checked out.



The first career Camden checked out was candy taster. By the smile on his face and the drool on his chest, I think that is a good option. Also all the chub rolls show he has no problem eating. He could handle pounds of candy with ease!

Cam's second career exploration involved dentistry. He can fit both his hands in either my mouth or his dad's, an important characteristic in a dentist. He can also force a mouth open, a critical skill with reluctant children.











The third career option Cam pursued was literary scholar. Look at him as he studies those pictures. He is well on his way to writing a best seller or critiquing the latest novel.

The fourth career Camden investigated was baby food critic. Making a mess is essential for this career, and as pictured, Camden can do this with ease. Cam declares these mixed vegetables to be very tasty. He also gives the mess factor a resounding two thumbs up.

Lastly, Camden studied the career option of being a pianist. Although it may sound like pounding on a piano to the untrained ear, his music is sure to be a hit with babies everywhere.

And finally, it's time to talk about the other things Cam accomplished in his ninth month of life. He is starting to eat more and more solids, no longer making the face of death. Nursing was given up completely by Cam, not by his mother. And last week, we had lift off as the boy started to crawl!

Simple Pleasures Monday - Tax Returns

It's that dreaded time of year again. Tax time! Will you get a return or will you have to pay? I know for many of you a tax return may be something to count on each year. But for the first time in our married life, we're getting a decent tax return. The first three years, we had to pay taxes. Last year, because of buying a house, we got a small return. This year, we're getting enough to have some fun with. I'm pretty excited about it. We can pay off a debt. And we're buying a California King bed. With a son who likes to be in bed with us when he is sick, and with a husband that is 6'8", we're spoiling ourselves (actually just Mark because he fits end to end right now on a regular queen or king bed). So much fun! So that's my simple pleasure of the day. If you're getting a tax return, what are you doing with it?

Maniacs!

My husband's Top 10 for this week discusses bad drivers and how to know if you are a bad driver. He now has a new one to add to his list - you're a freaking MANIAC and try to run people off the road.

True story from last night.

We live in a rural area where there is not much shopping, so we decided to drive to the next town over (30 minutes away) and look at their furniture store for a new bed. On the way home, we stopped for dinner. After dinner we discovered Camden had another of his famous poop blowouts, so we headed home. Now you have to know something about Mark. He's a really safe driver. He refuses to speed or do anything else that would break a law. (I used to be a speed demon before I met him. He would sit and quote the 12th Article of Faith to me over and over again where it says, "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.")

So we're driving home on the highway (yeah, no freeway out here) and just having some good conversation. On the last stretch of highway heading into our town, there are a lot of twists and turns as you head uphill. It's often hard to pass because of all the oil field trash, I mean trucks, that are on the highway. We're heading up this last stretch when a truck speeds around us. There was a car in the other lane and we're getting into one of the twists, so we had to slam on our brakes to let this truck in front of us. No big deal, we just kept driving. After this truck gets in front of us, it starts to slow down and be erratic with its speeds. We see there are three young adults in the truck and we figure they are just having fun being irresponsible drivers. Mark decides to pass them so we can get home and get Cam bathed and into bed.

As soon as we try to pass, this truck swerves over into the other lane to keep us from passing. We thought it was a fluke, so we tried to pass again. Once again, this truck swerves into the other lane, trying to keep us from passing and almost pushing us off the road. My husband honks at the truck (the only semi provoking thing he does all night) and the driver of the truck starts flipping us off, slowing down, slamming on his brakes, etc. We stayed far back and just tried to ignore him. For the next five minutes, this continues.

Finally, we come to the last hill entering into our town. There is a passing lane on that stretch, so we figure we will pass them to be rid of them there. Once we reach the passing lane, the truck straddles the middle and either way we try to pass, they swerve and try to run us off the road. My husband tells me at this point he was in the flee or fight mode, so he wanted to just get past this truck once and for all. He finally passes, being driven by this truck clear into the shoulder of the road on the other lane, and they start tailgating us and brightens us the rest of the way. We started to head for our home, but noticed they are trying to follow us, so we go a different way.

During this all, we got the plate number and called it in as soon as we get home. The officer tells us all he can really do is run the plate and go talk to the person and warn him, which is good enough for us. We just want this person to know they can't get away with it.

I have NEVER seen such crazy driving and rudeness in all my years on the road? Why would a person do that when we're just minding our own business? It was obvious we were just a simple family. We did nothing to provoke them. What would possess a person to try to run another vehicle off the road, simply for passing? The mother bear came out in me and I wanted to rip them apart for endangering my child.

That's my crazy story for the weekend. Tell me the craziest driving you have ever seen or experienced.

The week in review

You see how my site is called "Ramblings of a tired mind?" Today you will get to see the ramblings in action, only because I saved all my silly little stories to post in one big random Friday fun.

1. Yes, this was my school, where I work. No, I wasn't on the hit list (no teachers were). No I didn't teach the student and so I didn't push him over the edge. Although I probably have pushed more than one student over the edge in my years of teaching. It just hasn't come back to haunt me yet. Not much happens in my lil' town. This is as exciting as it gets out here. See Em, things do happen in redneck land!

2. Note to self: It is not a good idea to try to surf blogs, pump breastmilk, and eat chocolate cake at the same time. Said cake will slop all down you, the keyboard, and said pumping hardware, creating a lovely mess. And then you will cuss. And then you will walk around all day with a big ol' brown mark on your shirt and people will laugh at you.

3. Apparently I look older than 65 or else kids these days don't really get history. While preparing to read a nonfiction piece on World War II yesterday with my Advanced class, I gave them some background on Pearl Harbor. Keep in mind, we had already discussed when Pearl Harbor happened in 1941. After our lovely discussion, a girl raised her hand and said, "Mrs. teacher, how old were you when Pearl Harbor happened?"

She was serious folks! Nice. I told Mark that we're using our tax returns for plastic surgery so I don't look 65 any more.

4. Thank you to all who left book suggestions yesterday. I had a BLAST checking out new books online. I thank you. Amazon.com thanks you. My credit card company thanks you. My husband? Not so much.

For the love of books! - Thirteen Thursday

Being an English teacher, it should come as no surprise that I am obsessed with books. I love books. I love to read them, touch them, smell them, handle them. I could spend hours in a book store searching for new books and authors. I pour over the book order forms that come to my classroom. I love all things books. As I tell my students, you can never have too many books (well, you can, but only if they start to take over your house).

Because I love books so much (and because I have a stepson who hates books), it was important for me to instill a love of books in Camden. And he does so far. Of course it helps that I collect them and surround him with books. Just to give you an idea, the boy is almost 10 months old and has over 80 books. Yeah, just a few. He'll grab a book, crawl into my lap, and sit there turning the pages and having us read to him. When he first wakes up from a nap, he wants to have books read to him. This kid can spend hours with books, just like his mom. In honor of my book obsession, I want to share some of my favorite children's books with you. Feel free to share with me your favorite children's books, either ones you love to read to your children or ones you loved as a child.


This was the first book I ever read to Camden. I read it to him in the first week of his life. It took me about two months to be able to read it all the way through without crying. It's a touching story of the love between a parent and child.

This is another beautiful book that shows the love between parent and child. It is written in simple rhyme and contrast.

"I am your parent;/you are my child./I
am your quiet place;/you are my wild."

I love the style this book is written in.





Another great book about the love between a parent and child. Camden loves to turn the pages of this book and I get to tell him how much I love him.














Camden loves this book! He loves to turn the pages and stick his fingers in the holes of each food. He'll skip right to the foods, stick his fingers in the holes, and then go back to the start and want us to read it to him.











This is a delightful board book, perfect for boys. It's all about a garbage truck and what it does. Mark does the greatest voice for the garbage truck, which is why I think Camden loves it so much.





Another great book for voices. Mark does a ghetto voice for the llama. The bat sounds like Dracula, the seal is a redneck, and the swan is British in our voice rendition. Cam loves to hear our funny voices as we read this book. It's also another great book for rhyme.







Camden loves to touch the ladybugs and the holes as they disappear one by one. He also love the butterfly book by the same author.








This is my new favorite. I realize Camden is a little too young for it right now, but with him in daycare and me working, I love the sentiment. I read it to him and give him his own kissing hand for when I am at work. I cannot wait until he is older and can really understand the meaning of this book.

This book is so much fun! I love the pictures and the simple wording. It's also over Camden's head, but I love to read it again and again.

I cried the first time I read this book. It conveyed so many of the feelings I had about my pregnancy and my child, especially after the infertility. I vowed then to give this book to any infertile friend who was blessed with a baby.





I have this book so memorized I can read it without even looking at the pages. Mark doesn't like it so much, but I like the simple rhymes and patterns. It's a classic!







I love this whole series of books. I love the circular pattern of the books. Definitely a delight to read!









My husband and I love anything by Mercer Mayer. We have several of these books and love each of them. We plan on getting more, and more, and more.




So there you have it - some of my favorite children's books. Please share your favorites with me!