The Other Side of the Coin

Since I got pregnant with Lex, Mad Dog has had a issue with the Baby/Parenting Industry. I think my earliest memory of this was when I picked up a copy of Your Pregnancy for the Father-to-Be. I will admit this is a terrible book, however having said this I honestly believe it is written with a certain type of "Father-to-Be" in mind. The type of man who is a "sperm donor". The book tells the Father-to-Be that he should go to doctor appoints, help with dinner since their partner will be tired, that they should offer to rub her feet, etc. Mad Dog was very insulted by the writing and topics in the book.

From there it moved on to my "Parenting" and "Parents" magazines. He was annoyed that the magazines featured stories mainly focused on Moms and Mom issues, with maybe a throw-away article on being a Dad and what Dad's do wrong. I understood his aggravation with this, but honestly I though we was over reacting.

Mad Dog is an amazing Father. He goes out of the way to be there for his kids and connect with them in anyway possible.  I think the biggest thing is that he connects with them, something he didn't have (and doesn't have) with his own Father.

Where is this going? It has culminated in a new project/venture. He has started a new blog called Raising The Next Generation. I think this is a wonderful idea. I promise him I will be his biggest critic and supporter all at the same time.  Please check it out. I think Road to Nowhere and Raising The Next Generation will give you a complete picture of our family - presenting insight into both sides of our parenting styles, concerns, and observations regarding our lives.

Attack of the Forty Foot Virus!

This has been the year! Both Mad Dog, Lex and I have found ourselves in the capable hands of the folks at St. Vincent's Hospital  . Not that I don't love the nurses in the emergency room, but I don't need to see them anytime soon. 


This morning Mad Dog woke with extreme back pain and he was pretty sure it was a kidney stone. For anyone who hasn't had one, from my understanding it hurts like hell. Because of this pebble Mad Dog made his way to St. V's at 5 AM this morning on his own, leaving me with the Monkeys to get to school. He spent the day in emergency room 19 (the one I spent December 19th in) with the fine emergency room nurses of St. V's (all of which I love) and was released this afternoon with the stone still waiting to pass and handful of prescriptions to fill. 


He's doing much better now. Still waiting and watching his meds, making sure to take the next dose before the last one wears off.  Right now he is trying with all his might to make a chart/schedule of what/when he takes stuff. If only Loki didn't want to be his nurse. She is crawling all over him. 


On a separate note regarding the Health Care Industry, I was talking with my Daycare Provider today about the H1N1 vaccination. Yes, Mad Dog and I are getting Lex and Loki vaccinated. I have heard the argument that the FDA rushed the vaccination through and there are concerns about the use of it, but lets think about this logically. This is not a new radical type of vaccination, it is based off previous vaccinations. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but in the case of Mad Dog and I don't see a reason why Lex and Loki shouldn't have the shots. Also, with both of us working where we do, Mad Dog with the public and me in a corporation that has people coming and going from places all over the US/the World, we can't guarantee the environment the kids will be in.  Also, I can't count on the fact that the other kids attending Day Care will be getting them either. Lex and Loki are usually healthy kids, and with the cases of H1N1 in healthy children is on the rise, I don't want to worry. If you want to see what the virus does/spreads check out NPR's Flu Attack! Lastly - if Mad Dog (one of the Tin Foil Hat Brigade) thinks its okay, with all his research, I feel okay about it. 

People can send out all the information on the virus, the proper way to wash your hands and how to cough into your arm, but if people don't take personal responsibility for their health and themselves it doesn't matter what they share with this friends, families and coworkers. I have have finally caught the cold/cough that the kids and Mad Dog have finished with. I'm 2 weeks behind them. I think part of my luck in fighting off the sickness in our house is my new diet and focus on health. 


Or maybe I'm full of it and it's all an amazing marketing scheme by the health industry to sell more anti-bacterial gel, vitamins, cold meds and tissues. Oh, shoot did I clean the keyboard with Lysol . 

Metamorphoses

I think everyone has a different idea of the perfect wedding gift. Mad Dog worked long and hard on the gift he gave me, and most women would probably crinkle their nose at it, but I love it. He gave me an action figure customization kit. It's very cool.

My first custom figure isn't complete, yet. But I'm very excited about her. I started with my custom Lois Lane. I still have to create her skirt, but I managed to get the rest of her done. I even went as far as custom paint under where the skirt will be. She is going to stand next to my customer painted Lex Luthor once she is complete.

The figure I used for the Lois Lane was Sydney Savage from Danger Girl. I had to sand off her belt and all the fabric of her jumpsuit. I then hand painted her, giving her high heel shoes and thigh-highs. She'll have a black or dark blue skirt when I'm finished. I'm looking forward to working on many more custom figures with my new toys. (Sorry the photo isn't clearer!)

Original Sydney Savage Action Figure

Finding Your Inner Princess

This week Miss G came up with the idea she wanted to dress like Princess Fiona from Shrek. One of her biggest hang ups was that she doesn't have red hair. Me being me...I said that was easy enough and that we could get the spray in color stuff. It would wash out when she was done being Fiona.

We ran to Sally's yesterday and picked up some temporary color -RED! After explaining to Miss G how it worked she as okay with it, at least I thought. We had dinner with Mad Dog and he started to get Little Man ready for bed when Miss G started to get stomach pains - nervous is what I call them. She asked if we could do it tomorrow. I didn't push things. When Mad Dog came out from putting Little Man to bed, he asked if we had red hair yet. I explained what happened and he went to work.

Mad Dog being the Dad he is took the chair first and had me spray his hair. Before I was even finished with him Miss Gigi was trying to get into the chair for her turn. She found her inner princess with the help of the King himself.