Personal Blog of Author Kathryn Thompson
I’m having a bit of a rough time. I just had a great visit with my parents, although I wish they’d never left, and for some reason I’ve been struggling really hard these past few days.
I have a new post up at Parenting about my mommy and next week I plan to do some giveaways to boost my mood. If you want to tell me a joke or a fun anecdote related to fluffy bunnies or cute baby chicks, I’d be much obliged.
To get the party started, how cute are these pirates?
Laylee got her hearing aids last week, launching us into a whole new world of joy and wellness and a place where Dan and I can no longer whisper things above her head without the risk of her overhearing.
We spent 2 hours with a very kind and thorough audiologist who covered everything from how to clean “ear whacks” out of the rubber molds to how to purchase new batteries. We left with piles of hearing aid-related paraphernalia, including a small stuffed gopher with his own replica hearing devices velcroed to his ears.
I was amazed at how precise the process was for fitting and making sure that they boost the exact frequencies she lacks without overloading her on sounds she already hears just fine and I was relieved that they were able to shut off the volume controls so she doesn’t accidentally turn them way up or way down.
I’m sort of fascinated with these new removable body parts and find it strange and exciting to listen through them with my tiny hearing aid stethoscope. They sound tinny and electronic to me but supposedly that’s because they’re boosting frequencies that I already hear just fine.
Once we got home I had a really hard time not turning into the Verizon guy coming up behind her and whispering, “Can you hear me now?” every thirty seconds.
At one point on the second day she came up with a little experiment. She went to the bottom of the stairs and had me whisper something to her from the top of the stairs. Grinningly she repeated back what I had said, “Ah-HA! Now you can have no more secrets from me unless I’m asleep.” Then she turned off the hearing aids and had me whisper something else.
Me [whispering at the same volume as before]: I’m so glad you love your ballet class so much.
Laylee: Hm. I could still hear that too, even without my hearing aids. I guess my ears are okay.
Me: Really? What did I say?
Laylee: You just said, “SHWSHWSHWSHWSHWSH.”
Me: Um. Nope.
Sitting on my bed that morning, I was talking to Laylee when she suddenly asked me to be quiet. So I stopped talking and a huge grin filled her face. She said she could hear her dad’s shower ALL THE WAY IN THE NEXT ROOM! She was totally amazed by something I hear every day.
Now it’s not all peach-flavored Twizzlers and roses around here in the land of super hearing. Within minutes of getting them turned on for the first time, Magoo came up to her and started mouthing words with no sound coming out, causing her to strain to hear and become very concerned. He thought it was hilarious.
Also, as the audiologist predicted, she’s had a little trouble with distraction and confusion with all the new sounds coming at her. Where once she could carry on a discussion while Magoo lost his mind loudly in the next room, she now can’t hold a train of thought if he’s mumbling by her side. She’s seemed a little overwhelmed at times and over-stimulated. For this reason, the doctor suggested we wait a few days before letting her wear them to school. She begged us to cave and let her wear them all the time but we remained firm through the weekend and I’m glad we did.
Today I went with her to her kindergarten class and read all the kids a story about a little elephant with hearing loss who goes through the process of getting hearing aids. When I’d finished I told them about hers while she modeled like Vanna White and explained that they were just like glasses for her ears to help her have super hearing. Then I asked if they had any questions. Several hands shot up and the question period went something like this:
“I have a brother with glasses and he wears them.”
“Oh wow.”
“My dad wears glasses AND my uncle Steve.”
“That’s so great. Any more questions?”
“My mom has WHITE glasses.”
Repeat and fade…
Everyone seemed to like the pink color and the sparkles but most of all they just didn’t care that much. And now we move on to whatever’s next.
I’ve got a Halloween post up at Parenting.
Things may be a bit sparse over here for the next few days. We’ve got company in town and we’ll be too busy having fun to write about it. Peace.
Dan and I got all decked out for a costume party this weekend. Low-tech, low-budget, low-wow-factor, but also low-stress.
The party was held at Nacho and Encarnación’s house. The two of them went all out. Dan and I like to stick with t-shirts.
When I was pregnant with Laylee, before I had a digital camera, I wore a black turtle neck with a white circle and an 8 on the stomach and Dan wore a green shirt with 6 pockets.
What are your favorite couples’ costume ideas?
It’s the closest thing to a voodoo doll for exerting total control of your children. [read more at Parenting.com]
Tearing down politicians seems to be a favorite pastime in this country. I don’t remember things always being so vicious. At what point did we stop thinking of public servants as people and start using them as punching bags to absorb all of our pent up angst and rage?
I am definitely not planning on naming any of my future children or pets after George W. Bush but neither am I going to spend my life blaming all the world’s problems on him or finding ways to berate and mock him. It’s super cool right now to rip on Bush, to find a reason, any reason to be negative about him.
I think it all started with legitimate concerns about his policies and actions as president. Then it snowballed into something ugly, a disrespectful free-for-all of personal attacks. It makes me sad to see so many people so bitter and angry.
Now I’m all for debate, discussion, thoughtful criticism and even intelligent satire. We owe it to ourselves, our children and our leaders to keep them on their toes, to ask hard questions, debate policy and vote our consciences. But I think we’d be better off if we maintained a level of honor, civility and respect.
In the current election people seem to either passionately support one of the candidates or think they’re both a disappointment. I hear frequent talk about choosing “the lesser of two evils”, a ballooning pessimism and cynicism overtaking political discourse.
And I think, “What the chicken?!”
In this presidential race we have 2 men who I believe are good people, sincere in their desire to make positive change in this country. I don’t agree with either of them completely on how to accomplish that. Neither do I think I could do any better nor would I want to take on that kind of responsibility, especially in these tough economic times.
So I say, “Hooray for a free country where we get to choose between two impassioned, intelligent, honorable people to lead us.” (Yes I know there are other people running for president besides Obama and McCain but I’m referring to candidates who have a snowball’s chance of winning this election.) I would just encourage everyone to take a breath and practice some Pollyanna-style politics this November. Look at the good you think each candidate could accomplish and choose who you think could do the most good, not “lesser of two evils.”
In that spirit, I’d like you to leave comments today with positive things about either or all of the major presidential candidates and their running mates. Come on. I know you can do it.
*Any comments that Pollyanna wouldn’t approve will be deleted for this post. I want to keep it positive.*
Maybe I’ve watched too much Murder She Wrote but when I spotted this for sale at Costco, it seemed more sinister than festive.
Additional storage for tree stands or crowbars or whatever.
You’re gonna bind WHAT, now?
This image just creeps me out, like they’re putting the tree to rest, like rest rest, like senseless-violent-why-did-it-have-to-end-like-this rest.
And don’t forget the heavy duty wheels. They’re strong enough to pull a lot of weight… possibly over rough ground… on a dark and stormy night.
With all the slashing and simplifying I’ve been doing lately I’ve had time to pick up old hobbies. My latest compulsion is knitting. I want to do it all the time. I’ve finally gotten up the gumption to try and learn something beyond the knitting of basic scarves that I learned in second grade in order to get a Brownie badge and surpass my Brownie nemesis as the reigning queen of all badgedom.
Last week I picked up a basic knitting book from the bargain piles at Barnes and Noble, the closest place to a crack den I’ll ever visit. It’s called Funky Chunky which makes Dan snortle and chortle like a wee boy of 14 every time he sees it and it’s actually a great little book.
With that book in hand and the help of the fine people in this video, whom I love passionately, I was able to persevere and make my first pair of mittens.
100% wool yarn chosen by Laylee.
Bamboo needles chosen by me because they’re warmer than metal and less icky than plastic.
Mittens modeled by the sweetest 5-year-old known to the family of man.
Magoo is next, then Dan and then maybe you. It depends on when the arthritis sets in. Sitting in a rocking chair and knitting without a care in the world is sweet y’all. You should try it.
I wasn’t perfect in my goal this week not to multitask during meals. It’s amazing how HARD it is. The hardness of the goal to simply sit and eat meals with my family 3 times a day made me realize how much I need to keep working on it. Because really. If my life is as simple and balanced as I’d like it to be, that shouldn’t be difficult.
Along with these weekly goals, I’ve been drastically cutting back on my personal activities, giving up some good things that I really enjoy in order to have time to just breathe and live and be with my family. It’s been hard to let go of some of these pet projects but as each thing drops away, I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders, even when the thing I was doing was a really good thing. Being involved in too many good things makes it hard to enjoy any of them.
Dare to Simplify Week 3 — Fast Quick Speedy Meals of Quickness
This week write down a list of your favorite quick dinner meals to make in a pinch when you don’t have anything planned, you don’t have time to make what you had planned or you find that you’re missing one key ingredient from the recipe you wanted to make.
This should be a list of meals for which you generally have most of the ingredients available without a trip to the store. It can include things like waffles, scrambled eggs and refried beans on toast. (I made that last one up just now. Could you tell?) Then next week come back and share your ideas in the comments section.
I find that when I’m desperate for a quick meal, I can’t think of anything so I’d like to post this list of fast ideas inside my kitchen cupboard to look at when we’re in a rush.