| I like the name, thank you! |
What's in a name? Yeah, I know the whole rose and smelling sweeter and all that is usually spewed after that particular question. I was a Lit Major in my humble college career. But seriously, what's in a name? Why is it certain names are only associated with one gender, or one religion, or one race? Why is it that we like the way certain names flow or sound versus another? How come everyone decides to name their kids the same name and then we end up having 4 kids in one 1st grade class with the same first name?
We took Kyan to the playground today and there was a man there watching one of his sons practice baseball and the other was on the swings. Jared started idle chit chat with him and then of course Kyan had to come check out what was going on and we get the same old "How old is he? What's your name little guy!" followed by "He's big/small/tall/short/talkative/shy.... for his age!" which apparently is what you're supposed to do. You can't just say, "How cute." anymore, you have to form an opinion.
So the guy, nice guy and all, asks him his name and Jared says, "Kyan" and he says "Oh that's cute. My little guy's name is Kaeden. That's kinda close!" Immediately I get a bit depressed because I hadn't heard any kids around here with that name. I've heard Cade, Cadence, Kayson, and a shit load of Aydens, but not Kaeden and my heart hit the floor. All I could think of is "That name is supposed to be Kyan's little brother's (should he ever have one) name! I don't want it to get popular! I wonder how popular it is!" And really that's not fair. It's not like I see kids popping up at Walmart with name tags that say "Hi. My name is..." on them. It just bothers me because, as a former teacher and kid who had a million girls in their class with the same name so she was known as Stephanie J. her whole K-4 career and back to 'Which Stephanie are you?' from 9-12, I didn't want to have kids who had really common names. Kyan was a safeguarded name that only my family knew definately about. I didn't feel like sharing it with all the women in my OBGYN office, or random strangers who did (or didn't) say they had a friend or relative also expecting. It may be selfish, but I just wanted a child with a unique name or an uncommon not on the Top 10 of 2006 list. We went on a mini-vacation last week to Charleston and growing up around here there aren't as many different ethnic groups as there are in larger cities or even just further south in location. I'm at a Gymboree store and this lady and her mother are sorting through clothes and our sons are sitting stroller to stroller babbling to one another. It's sad, but I'm not really sure that Kyan has ever seen a black child before that close or to actually interact. We just live in a very rural area so he doesn't see many children anyways unless I seek out a Mom's Club, Mommy and Me, whatever. Anyhow, she asks how old, his name, and I tell her and she and her mother go on and on about how much they really like that name. I thank her and ask about her son as well. She goes into this explaination saying, "Well, I just don't really like those stereotypical black names like Shaneiqua and all that so I named him Jason David." I came back to the hotel and started telling Jared about our day and how Kyan had met another baby around his age and then told him the story and it just kind of dawned on me that we just accept that certain races or religions are going to name their children in "that" way. Not to sound like a racist ass, but more Christian families are going to go for biblical names, a person that has a French heritage might go for a more French origin name, etc. I don't know why but you sometimes look at a person and think they're going to tell you their child's name and it's going to be flamboyant or fancy and exotic and then tell tell you something really common or Americanized and you get a let down. It's just not fair. So I guess from now on I'm not going to let it bother me if I hear another child being called a name I've picked out for my unborn offspring, or hesitate to give my child's name in fear that I'll start seeing a rash of children in the newspaper with the same name, I won't even cringe at the next mispronunciation of it. I suppose that all that matters is a person likes their name, and are proud that they had parents who put thought into it and gave them a good name that they can be proud of. |
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| I hate the word "Mine" |
I hate the word "mine". I'm a big fan of "Finding Nemo" and one of the many perks to the movie, aside from hippie stoner turtles, are the seagulls. Love the seagulls! So imagine my happiness when I found out that Kyan will actually sit down and watch a movie. My first thought was "WHERE'S MY NEMO DVD?!" As luck would have it one night after bathtime as we were settling in to do our ritual rocking to sleep, I flip the channels and find Nemo is on. Granted we missed most of the movie, but we came in just as the whole "Jellyman" with the Jellyfish and the Turtles was coming on. Why is it that all the good movies and shows come on at bedtime? I sit there laughing and trying to to as hard as I can, but I end up either waking him up or keeping him awake. We've now discussed that I'm (still) banned from America's Funniest Videos, and all CNN/MSNBC/Political Debates/State of the Union Addresses/ or otherwise programs where I will want to hurl something through the television, debate with it, or get on a pee my pants roll with the show. Anyways, so we sat and watched it and then he promptly went off to bed just as the credits started rolling. I was pretty happy. Can you imagine how this will effect my day to day routine?! I can pop a movie in and poof! Happy kid! I can take him to the movies! I can buy him videos without having to get dirty looks from the cashier like "Your kid is 2 months old, why are you buying a kiddie movie?" Finally an excuse to go to the G rated Disney movies and laugh along with the under 10 crowd (Again!)! But like all great bubbles, this too shall burst. Those stupid seagulls. STUPID BELOVED SEAGULLS I CURSE YOU!!! Now all I hear in my house is "mine! mine!" Everything seems to be Kyan's, from the markers, to the crayons, toy cars, crackers, and things that clearly are not his like the phone, remote, Mommy's pillow, our bed, it's mine and mine from sun-up to sun-down. And just when I was reluctantly about to toss my Nemo DVD into the "inappropriate and overly watched" pile (where the Old MacDonald book currently is hidden and has been hidden for weeks now) I heard one of the characters on a Nick Jr. show saying it today! WHY ARE THEY TEACHING THESE KIDS TO SAY MINE?! I'm all for educational programming, we're big fans of Sesame Street (and I say that as a former Grouch-ka-teer) and it's paying off as he's 2 months short of 2 years old and can count from 1-10. It helps to get that reinforcement that Mommy isn't just being silly and singing her ABC's for her health! Elmo does it too!!! C is for cookie is definately good enough for me in my house! But why do they have to show that something is someone's by saying "No! That's mine!" in that way? Why can't they teach sharing differently? Alas, I'm being summoned by a toddler holding a sippy cup saying "Mine!" and I'm sure the next word will be a command for "Juice!" |
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| Why, oh why?! Part 1 |
So, I've been lurking around yet again and neglecting my blog. I know, I know. If GH can have their fictional characters blogging, then why can't a real human being keep up with their own? The truth is... we're slowly fighting naptime, which was "Mommy can breathe and take a break time" and now I'm only getting a chance to do this because it's late, I just did some budgeting, and I cut my foot on a piece of glass I've swept 4 times and mopped twice and still missed the one piece that would wedge into my foot and make me wake up my husband to look to make sure all the glass was out because I couldn't bend my foot and hold the bloody towel to see the one blindspot on my heal that it pierced. I know, it's complicated, don't try to contort yourself to figure out the exact spot, just take my word that it exists.
In my brief hiatus I've been pondering a few questions and this is Part 1 of those I can remember for the moment and would like to ask into the internet universe:
#1. Why do actresses feel the need to botox themselves before the new season of their show? I'm watching Army Wives and thanking the Good Lord that it's finally back on for season 2 and all I can do is sit and wonder if Claudia Joy had some post bomb botox or if her mouth area is just still swollen from her injuries? She's extrodinarily unwrinkled and smooth for a woman her age so why did she go and get injected?
#2 Why do we feel the need to name call? I used to frequent a message board for the past 6-7 years and there is a girl on there who in the past year or two has just been remotely rude and targeting of me most of the time. I really don't care but she resorts to name calling as her "weapon of choice" in most all conversations/debates/etc. when really she should just be mature and ignore things she dislikes or make mention of them and keep the negativity to herself. Class case of "think it, but don't necessarily say it aloud because it's just petty". Anyways, she makes this public apology because her 3 year old called her out on her use of the word idiot to almost everyone in any situation that isn't going her way. What is the need to apologize in a "I'm sorry I call you one but I still think you're an idiot." sort of way?
#3 How come we realize how bad our bodies look in pictures, or how much we should love our pregnant bodies and embrace maternity wear? I'm seriously not loving the way my digital camera doesn't give me an option to edit out my days when Mommy didn't have time to fix her hair to 100% completion or when we did our make-up thinking "What can I absolutely not live without today?" or "Really, who am I going to run into while wearing my oldest pair of flip flops and stained up jeans?" Why is it now I wear every piece of suck me in, hold me taut undergarments because I don't want to look flabby in pictures? How come when I was pregnant I didn't take advantage of these floppy shirts and dresses that were in fashion? Why is it that maternity clothes now look cuter than when I was pregnant 2 years ago? How come pregnant women think they're sea cows when I'd die to have a reason to not look like I'm next in line for the cover of Shape Magazine?!
#4 How come the minute you get baby fever, a pregnancy scare, and a whacked out cycle coming off of BC Pills that you notice that about 80% of the women in any give place you are standing are either pregnant or postnatal? Really that's all I have to say about this one.
#5 When is Lifetime going to stop making films that make me go and wake my kid up to kiss, hug, cuddle and almost smother him in affection? I seriously am starting to love the "He beat me so I killed him" marathons because lately they've been a real downer. The Memory Keeper's Daughter premiered on a night when Kyan was fighting bedtime horribly and had also battled his naptime that day so I was at my wit's end for a break and still had a lunch to pack and a shirt to iron. The minute I get him into his crib, fast asleep, is the moment they reject the baby and then the woman falls apart and all I want to do is go and cuddle with him.
#6 Why does my mother buy my kid everything and let him get away with murder and yet we would've been told to suck it up or "People in hell want ice water, doesn't mean they get it"? We're out there tonight and Kyan doesn't want to eat the dinner no matter how many pickles I bribe him with. We even moved dinner outside to the patio furniture she just got because "Maybe he'd rather eat outside?" 15 minutes later my Mom is walking around with him in the yard while I'm wrapping both of their dinners up for them to eat later. Call me crazy but I remember the woman who made us sit at the table for an hour until we ate our broccoli or fish sticks. Who was that?
#7 Is it really the terrible twos or is that just something fictional to blame it on? Everytime Kyan does something out of the ordinary or throws a little tantrum or gets fussy my hubby tells whomever is in earshot that it's the beginning of the terrible twos. It can't be that he wasn't home all day and Kyan just wants some Daddy Time, or that he didn't take a nap, or he wants something and is clearly saying it but Daddy can't interpret it or is too wrapped up in the Red Sox game, or that he's close to lunchtime and we're still running errands or whatever. Really is it the terrible twos, the terrible threes, or is it that our kid is finally starting to communicate but not fast enough and it's frustrating to him?
#8 How come the second I bring home a bunch of fresh fruit from the grocery store I realize that yet again I picked the ones that attract those icky gnatty looking fruit fly things? Kyan loves fruit, he can say cookie like a champ and will eat one once in a while, but he really loves the ol' bananas/grapes/pears/etc. So why is it that being a good Mommy with a nutritious meal plan do I end up buying that nice fresh fruit that goes bad a few days later only to come home and wash it and then start to see those crappy little bugs flying around? Are they hiding out in the stems of the fruit? Where do they come from?! How do people actually get around to making banana bread with ready to rot bananas when those buggers are there atleast a few days before they hit that point?!
#9 Why can't my husband realize he needs to do some portion control when he eats? He eats and eats and eats and then gets that sick feeling and then later complains that he's fat. Should we have stopped at the 4th salisbury steak you ate? Maybe the 5th? I blame his upbringing. He will sit and eat a whole pack or container of something just because it's there and looks at me like I'm crazy for making dinner and having so many different foods to eat and select from. If you know you're going to be sick and you're already feeling full, why push it?
#10 How comes the second we get weather with humidity, and over 75 degree heat, all of my bodily systems go screwy? We go to Applebee's last night and I feel like I need to use the bathroom. I get there and realize as I sit down to potty that I was about 2 seconds from explosive diarrhea. Why? Because it's been hot. Everytime Summer hits it seems like my body does a complete system redo and I get headaches, body cramps, swelling, and some weird type of irritable bowel syndrome.
#11 I'm all for sex, and I'm all for Summertime, but how come you can have sex about 9 hours prior to standing back up to get up and start your day and you get a gush of post coital ickiness? I hate semen. |
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Alias: SNM
Hometown: Farmington, WV, United States
About Me: SMN is currently a S@HM who resides in the Senior Citizen capital of the world. Amongst her many talents are writing, tiptoeing through the mind field that is her living room, saving run away strollers, lacing any comment with sarcasm, and changing a diaper in 10 seconds flat. Her greatest achievements are birthing Thing One and Thing Two. Ongoing projects include diving into the world of blogging, weaning an aggressive breast feeder, parenting and all it's challenges, and being a wife she can live with (as well as her husband).
See my profile...
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