The CDC standards have nothing on Sir Smudge

Smudge should not be able to carry on a conversation for a while yet. However, he has already, at 3 months, learned how to. But, he can only do it a 3 am. At 3 pm he can giggle and smile, but in the middle of the night, he can explain the theory of relativity.

Sir Smudge in the Middle of the Night: "Whaa! Hmmmm, shchmmmuuuh?? Blech blah"

Mama: Huh???

Sir Smudge: "The speed of light in a vacuum is the same for all observers, regardless of their relative motion or of the motion of the source of the light."

Mama: Double "Huh???"

Sir Smudge: "Shakespeare's treatment of the female character is misogynistic!"

Mama: "I NEED SLEEP!"

Nudge Smudge: Rapid eye movement sleep, or REM sleep, accounts for 20%–25% of total sleep time in most human adults. The criteria for REM sleep include rapid eye movements as well as a rapid low-voltage EEG. Most memorable dreaming occurs in this stage.

Mama: "If you will leave me alone for long enough for REM to occur, I will buy you a pony."

A Reflection

I have 3 ornaments on our tree that symbolize love lost. For 3 Christmases I've stayed up way too late to look at the tree and think about what life really means.

The first Christmas I'd recently lost a baby and was unaware that I'd already conceived Critter.
The second Christmas I thought about how things happen for a reason.
The third Christmas, this one, I'm thinking again of love and loss.

To Courtney's parents: I still think of her and you. I can't even begin to imagine how hard your lives must be.

To Josh's family: There are no words.

To both families: Your children's friends still think of them daily. We haven't forgotten.

9 Finger Discounts are Cool!

When that Maclaren recall came out a couple of weeks ago, I, like the Good Mommy I am, went online and requested the fix kit. Today, I received a computer generated response from Maclaren in my SPAM box. As the letter is written in Corporate Response (i.e. The Corporate Response To Be Sent To The Idiot Consumer) I decided to translate it into Average American.


Corporate Response

Dear Anne,
Maclaren USA has led the headlines last month due to a safety concern with our strollers. We wanted to reach out to you to apologize for any added anxiety or stress that has resulted from this voluntary recall.
Maclaren had noticed an increase in the number of incidents over the last year where children had trapped their finger in the side hinge of the stroller during the opening or folding of it. This risk is eliminated when children are kept away from the stroller during opening and folding. Similarly, when the stroller is fully opened for use there is no risk involved. The hinge cover kit you requested provides the extra measure of protection to child-proof the stroller during opening and folding. We have a video demonstration of the cover installation on our website at http://recall.maclaren.us/faq.php.
We recognize the initial response to our recall was not adequate and regret any delays you may have encountered. We made the necessary adjustments in resources and bandwidth to resolve our responsiveness to what has been our first recall in over forty years of doing business. As parents ourselves, the events are of deep concern to us. There is simply nothing more important to Maclaren than the safety of a child.
Maclaren is proud of its impeccable safety record of zero incidents of stroller injuries in use. No other stroller manufacturer has a better safety record. During the last 10 years Maclaren has received reports of at least 15 incidences where a stroller was involved in a car accident and the child's life was saved because of the frame integrity of the Maclaren stroller.
As parents, we know firsthand why that commitment is the most important one for a company like ours. We hope that you will reach out to us with questions or comments at feedback@maclarenbaby.com.
Farzad Rastegar
Chief Executive Officer
Maclaren USA INC.

Average American

To the Consumer It May Concern,
The government finally got wind of the conspiracy and the bloodsucking reporters got involved. We are sorry that we got caught with our hands down our pants and our fingers in a hinge.

After receiving more than a dozen complaints that your Blessed Ones were having their fingers severed in our poorly constructed hinges on BOTH sides of our expensive ass strollers, the gub’ment forced us to do something about it. However, if you were decent parents, not the mo-rons you actually are, you would know to keep the tykes away from the stroller during the opening of it, not keeping them out of oncoming traffic. And, just in case you are too stupid to know how to work the zipper on our “fix kits” we’ve created a video for you. But, since all one million of our doting customers seem to be trying to watch it at the same time, the site may have crashed, we take no blame.

At first, we thought the complaint calls were coming from the minute portion of the Maclaren buying population who actually have children, not our average consumer, so we didn’t go public with what may or may not have been our fault, until the government noticed all the nine fingered children swarming the Oval Office. We increased our main websites bandwidth for a few days in response. As parents ourselves we know how important fingertips are. Come on, the tips have the nail. We all know that's the best part. However, in this economy, we can’t believe you are so concerned with having children who qualify for 10 fingered manicures. Don’t you fools know we are in a recession? Wouldn’t your money be better spent on safe childrens products and not beauty supplies? Wait. Maybe that’s not why you are so indignant. Oh, yeah! Fingers! And the lack of them. We digress.

But, we do have safe strollers. When the brake locks fail, and your Precious Ones go rolling out into the street, don’t our outstandingly designed stroller frames keep cars from squishing them? Don’t you Boogers-for-Brains know that it’s better to be without a finger than to become Pavement Pancakes? The things we have to explain simply dumbfound us.

We hope that you will reach out to us with any lingering questions or concerns you may have. In the event that our main website is down, our number has been disconnected, and our headquarters have burned down under mysterious circumstances, you will simply need to follow the rainbow to it’s end, pay the leprechaun, cross the bridge over the lava, then sing to the troll. He’ll put you on hold with our Customer Service Department until your toddler comes home with his own babies, and someone should be with you shortly after that.

Farzad Rastegar
Chief Executive Officer of Lucifer Himself

(I took the part about the fingertips being the best part because of the nail from the FRIENDS episode The One with All the Thanksgivings. I translated the rest of the letter out of my own annoyance.)

Sleepless in Seattle

Yes, I do wish I was in Seattle, cause if I was in Seattle, I would be far, far, far out of hearing reach of the newest Smith, who has decided that Night Time is for snuggling, and Day Time is that thing in the background while he sleeps.

Bless his slothy soul, he can go 6 hours during the day dreaming of his "me time" with Mommy at 1 am. But, come 1 in the morning, Mama only wants to be dreaming of having a waist. And believe me, it takes a REM cycle to believe a waist is forthcoming. Unfortunately, my waist and my night time sleep are out of reach of my still-swollen fingers.

At least he naps the same time as Critter. That, and starting at 4 am, he sleeps til 11. Guess I shouldn't complain too much.

Electrical Tape Isn't Just for Wire: Sticking It to Them When They Stick It to You at Target

I admit. Pre-Critter I was one of those superior Mommies-to-be. You know, the one who won't turn on the TV, or feed junk foods, or Heaven forbid, allow their child to pitch a fit.

Fast forward til yesterday found me at the local Target, deeply engrossed in the mind numbing task of deciding whether or not the more expensive baby detergent is really worth the extra 3 bucks and if I don't dish out the dollars, does that indeed make me a Bad Mother. (Answers: no it is not, and maybe)

Then, the phone in my pocket began to ring. Critter's beady little eyes zeroed in on my right hip while I began to furiously run through my mental list of evasive maneuvers. The battle line had been drawn. He wanted the phone because the buttons beep and the screen lights up. I didn't want him to have it because he reprograms my emergency contact from Husband to the To Go phone at my favorite lunch spot. And while the craving for a dill tomato sandwich constitutes an emergency to me, I don't want the gum snapping teenager at the sandwich counter making any snap decisions regarding my vegetative state.

I pulled out the cell just as the call went to voicemail. Dang. Now he'd seen the thing and I didn't even get the chance to talk to the caller.

In my best Superior Mommy voice I told him "No, Critter. This is Mama's phone. Not a toy. You may play with your phone." I handed him his Playskool cell that calls some crazy cartoon duck and he deliberately dropped it to the floor while eyeing my LG.

At my firmest "No!" he reached out and intentionally smacked my phone to the floor. I could read the thought bubble above his demonic head: "If I can't have it, can't no body have it." The bubble even contained the eye cutting that I hadn't penciled into his schedule for another 14 years.

I retrieved the phone and stuck it back into my pocket. Seeing his favorite play thing disappear caused his bottom lip to began to jut out. Crud. I realized I had about .2 seconds until the sounds started. I hastily looked around for witnesses, hoping to find myself alone. No such luck. At Target in suburbia with a fit-pitching-baby, I'm just lucky my in-laws and pastor weren't hanging out by the aisle end cap.

As the wailing began I tried desperately to decide what I could do. My first thought was to book it to the school supply section and get some scotch tape to silence that fat lip and it's partner in crime. I wasted another valuable few seconds trying to decide if the store security guys would turn the surveillance tape into child protective services if I went with this option.

I admit. It wasn't the thought that I would be portrayed on every major news station across America as the nut-job-mouth-taping mommy that stopped me. It was the knowledge that scotch tape loses it's sticky within seconds of coming into contact with spit. Electrical tape holds much better.

Boo On Poo: How I Learned Never To Leave the House Without an Extra Onesie

This morning my mom called to tell me that she was playing hooky from work and wanted to go shopping and out to lunch, would I like to come? Critter and I were in the car before I finished drying my hair. Nothing says Happy Friday like free lunch.

As Madre and I were finishing eating, we noticed Critter was turning a funny purple color. I leaped up and pounded him on the back thinking that he was choking on a cheerio. He returned to a normal shade and I returned to my seat, only to have him do another Barney impression a couple of minutes later. Before I could dial 911 my mother informed me that she thought he was "making number 2." Which she said just like that: making number 2.

When we were done with lunch and Critter had gone through several rounds of color change theory, Madre volunteered to take him out to the car and change him while I cleaned up the table. I threw the trash away, refilled my drink, went to the restroom, and ran into and chatted with a friend before finally making it out to the parking lot. So, I was pretty surprised to see my mom standing by the back door instead of huffily waiting in the passenger seat.

As I rounded the front of the car I could see that she was gingerly holding up a giggling Critter by the feet. "What the....?" I started to ask. I was cut short, however, by the shock of noticing that Critter appeared to have had a run in with the crazy-eyed spray tan lady at our local Ultra Tan. A second later, I figured it out. Critter had poo (POO!!) smeared all over his legs and stomach. I then noticed that his onsie, which had been a cream color at lunch but was now closer to that of mud, in a heap on the pavement.

My mom narrowed her eyes at me. "We need napkins." She growled. "And a cup of water." The travel wipes box lay empty about a foot from the mud onsie. I turned on my heel and scampered back into the restaurant before she could demand that I hold his feet.

As I got back to the parking lot, I could see my mom shaking her head while a group of teenaged girls walked by laughing. When they passed I heard one saying "Eww, that is so gross! I am so never having kids!"

"Girlie," I wanted to say "I'm in total agreement."

The A$$ Hat: This Summer's Must-Have Accessory for Opinionated Strangers

There is little in this world that brings out stupid comments from friend and foe like pregnancy. I'm not sure if it's because the majority of the population is aware that preggos aren't recommended to partake in fist-fights or because the sight of a pregnant person automatically bestows the seer with a medical degree, but there is no other time in a persons life when they will more wish to live on a deserted island than while with child.





It was during my 4th or 5th month of pregnancy with Critter that I ran into a person who has always been a mega-butt and I should expect no good to come from. Butt Head looked me up and down with his critical eyes and said, not "Congratulations" but "Wow, you've gotten really fat." Which was an especially cruddy comment for him to make, considering I had only gained about 10 pounds.





As I blinked in shock, the only comeback I could think of was to tell him that I was right on target with my weight gain and my doctor had congratulated me for being exactly average.



His response? "Huh. Well, she's not concerened that your butt appears to be what's pregnant, not your stomach?" I had nothing to say to this, so I pretended not to have heard him.




However, when I got home I curled up next to Husband and told him the story with tears streaming down my face. Husband looked at me and responded with all the sympathy of his gender. "Well, what can I say? You know he's an ass hat!"



And out of the ashes of my self-esteem arose the A$$ Hat:








See those little slips of paper sticking out of the top? Those are all the crappy comments people have made to me over the course of my pregnancies. When someone says something stupid, mean, or completely inappropriate, I jot it down on whatever is handy and when I get home I put it in the A$$ Hat. Then, when I'm feeling creative and/or mean spirited I pull out the A$$ Hat and try to come up with retorts to all the stupid things people say.



As you can see, the A$$ Hat is pretty full. And so recently, I changed the Hat's rules. Now I play a different game.



Friday's are pretty boring for me, so Fridays became my Game Day. Each morning on My Most Special Day, I close my eyes and pick a saying from the Hat. Then I pack the diaper bag full of Critter essentials and run all my errands that I have been saving up since the previous Game Day. I make a tally on the slip of paper for each time someone makes the same, or a similar comment. And then I picture them in the Hat, a la Jeff Foxworthy's "Here's Your Sign."



So, Strangers, if you are unable to keep your opinions to yourself, and you run into me on a Friday, and I'm laughing maniacally, that's why. It's because you are wearing the A$$ Hat.