Not an iphone (way too much cell phone talk)

Dan and I have spent the past couple weeks trying to figure out what to do with our cell phone plans. We are on a family plan with Dan's whole family which makes the monthly bill very affordable especially since both of us combined use like 200 minutes.....we're not big talkers! Anyway, we weighed the options of getting off the family plan and getting new plans of our own, maybe going with a carrier other than AT&T, and have been debating which new phones to get.

It has become such a pain in the butt to deal with cell phone companies. Their customer service, increased cost of rate plans, decreased minutes, and rules are ridiculous and annoying. I swear I have spent over 10 hours on the phone with AT&T within the last week trying to get what they offer on the computer for new customers, but they don't offer for existing customers.....which doesn't make a lot of sense to me. It seems like all of the cell phone companies are merging and where there used to be maybe 7 or 8 major companies that created competition that kept prices down and reasonable, there are only like 3 now and everything is a lot more expensive.

Anyway, we decided to stay with AT&T on our family plan because its the most economical decision for us. I've always wanted a razr phone....a pink one at that, but AT&T only offers the V3xx which is just a small step up from their original razr V3 which is now obsolite. The new V8 and V9 razrs are the way to go if you want a razr, but AT&T doesn't carry them yet. Lame. So, we decided that we were just going to spring the money and get iphones. They are really cool, we could use them as ipods as well and at $199 its not that expensive for what you're getting and it was only $60 more expensive than the crappy razr V3xx. Dan goes to the AT&T store because for some wacko reason they won't sell them on-line or over the phone. He gets all set to buy them and the dude who is helping him informs that to have the iphone he also needs to add a $30 data package per phone to our plan. SAY WHAT? Not such a good deal anymore. lol $400 worth of phones on our current plan isn't so bad when compared with getting a new plan with a new carrier that would be about $30 more expensive a month. $400 for new phones and $60 a month for a data package which equals $1440 for the two year contract we had to sign on top of the normal amount we pay each month just for our service. Not good. Not Happening! So we ditched the iphones even though we were both really excited about them. Maybe someday when they aren't so shiny and new and there aren't mandatory data packages required we'll get iphones.

So for now, we decided on LG vu (cu920) They are pretty cool.....not as cool as an iphone but a pretty good runner up. They have touch screen and the keyboard can move to landscape mode for typing and music can be stored and you can subscribe ($$more money$$) to a TV service and watch TV on your cell phone.....which we won't be doing.....how lazy does one have to be to need to bring a TV with them everywhere they go? It also came with hands free speaker headphones and has 3G whatever that is.....Dan says its important, so I feel its important too, I just have no clue what it does. lol We ordered 4GB microSD cards for them so we can store a lot more stuff. Overall I'm really happy with our new phones, they are a lot cooler than the phones we had before and pretty similar to the iphone but half the cost and with now data package fee. Yippee! Gotta love new toys. Now I just need to figure out how to use this thing.....someone send me a picture text or something!!! lol Here is the little darling:

Bone broth: good for the soul.....and dogs too!

Since we bought a quarter cow a few months back we have a lot off beef. We also have a lot of beef bones. I decided to get a jump start on winter and the cold and flu season and make some beef bone broth.....chicken broth is coming soon.....one thing at a time! lol

It is really easy to make broth and it is so good to have around when you're sick, or for cooking purposes. I actually followed a couple of different recipes when making my broth because I didn't want to use 7 pounds of bones and hooves and stuff, but generally you bake bones and meat for about 30-45 minutes, put it all into a big stock pot with a few carrots, celery ribs and onions coarsely chopped up, add some spices and fill with water until the meat and bones are covered. I found many different simmering times online that ranged from 2 hours to 72 hours, so I cut it in the middle and cooked/simmered my broth for about 40 hours. The house had a soupy smell for a long time! lol

Another nice thing about making broth is that when you're done there is a lot of left over bones and meaty parts that aren't really edible because all of the fat and taste has been leeched out. But it's great for the doggies. After I strained all the chunks of meat, bone and veggies out of the broth I separate the bones out and let them dry and then put the meat and veggies in the fridge and mix about a cup worth in with the dogs food once or twice a week for a yummy treat!

I'm really excited about my broth and an anxious to make a homemade soup from it. I'm also excited to get started on my chicken broth.....I just need an extra 40 hours!!

Here's a great website that explains the benefits of bone broth and it has some recipes. Broth is beautiful

liabilities

When did human kindness become such a liability?

We all packed up for a drive up to Raleigh on Monday to take Charlotte to the doctor. Normally I make appointments on Thursday's when her doc is at the office near us, but this couldn't be helped....no poop for 11 days can't wait until Thursday. Dan needed to take care of a speeding ticket issue at the court house which is in downtown Raleigh so we figured two birds one stone and what not. He dropped the girls and me off at the doctor and headed off to court telling me it wouldn't take more than 20 minutes.

Both of my girls were really good in the doctor's office. I kept Maddie entertained with little cars, and Charlotte just sat on my lap. Charlotte ended up pooping in the car on the way there, so I had a specimen for the doc to look at (and yes, she was constipated) The doctor came in, looked at the poop, talked with me for seriously like 2 minutes and then left saying that he was going to come back with a "plan." I hadn't even asked him any of the questions I had planned. I feel like the medical profession has gotten into this herding mentality, get to a problem as quickly as possible, even if it's not the right problem as long as its the obvious one and patch the situation up and then move on to the next sheep/goat/cow. At least in my experience medical professionals just don't have the time anymore to have a relationship with their patients.....a relationship that can genuinely help them to practice medicine and treat patients, but they have too many people scheduled each day trying to rake in as much money as they can. I digress. The doc sent in a nurse to explain the "plan" to me, and when I discovered that she had no idea what she was talking about, I demanded that the doctor come back in and explain it to me himself, and answer my questions.

His "plan" was for us to continue breastfeeding, supplement if needed with formula and to give her 2 ounces of water and 1/2 teaspoon of Mylanta a day. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? We've already done this, we've been down this road numerous times since Charlotte was born, and it hasn't made a bit of difference. We've done the water, and apple juice, and pear juice, and Mylanta, and mylacon drops, and karo syrup and sugar water and abdominal massage and suppositories. We've done it all, and not only does it not work, the situation is getting worse because she is going longer and longer without pooping. First it was 4 days and then 5-6 days and then 7 days and now 11 days. Seriously?!?!? I just want my child to poop, is that too much to ask? lol

Okay, so that wasn't even really what this blog was supposed to be about.....I get side tracked easily. So, the doctor came back in and actually spends a good 10 minutes with me and answers my questions and we kinda modify the plan, add me drinking a LOT of water, and feeding her pureed apples. We finish up, Maddie gets a sticker because she was such a good girl and we head back out to the waiting area where I call Dan. He tells me that he has just arrived at the courthouse and it's gonna be like 30-45 minutes before he can get back to the doctor's office and pick us up. Expletives entered my mind. Great, now I have to find a way to keep both of my kids under control in the waiting room where there is absolutely nothing for Maddie to do, and we had to for-go afternoon naps for an emergency poop doctor’s visit. But there is a possible ray of sunshine peeking through the clouds of this bad situation.....our pediatrician group also owns and runs preschools and they are right next to the offices and the preschools have playgrounds. So, I grab the diaper bag, grab Maddie's hand and hoist up Charlotte in her car seat (by the way, Charlotte now weighs 18 pounds 13 ounces, so carrying her in her car seat is quite a task)and walk across the parking lot to the preschool. I struggle to get into the front door since my hands and arms are full of kids and walk up to the "receptionist" woman who is manning the front check in/out counter. I tell her that I am stranded at the pediatrician’s office for a little while and ask if it would be possible for Maddie to play on the playground for just a few minutes to get some of her wiggles out. Now, let me tell you, this playground is like a little tikes one with a couple slides and climb through tunnels but it's not very big, and not very tall and honestly Maddie could eat it for breakfast.....she is used to MUCH bigger and taller equipment at the park. Anyway, the receptionist woman looks right at me with my arms full and tells me no, she can't let Maddie use the playground because it's a liability.

I just about started crying. Obviously I needed help, if it wasn't apparent with me juggling too many things in my arms, then it was written all over my face. I understand that they have the right to cover their asses for liability, but I just don't understand how we got to this place, this sterile, fend for yourself screw you, place. I was looking for help, for some compassion and it didn't even need to be the playground, Maddie would have been fine with a piece of paper and a few crayons in the lobby, or some blocks anything that would have kept her occupied and kept us from hanging around outside in the parking lot where I had to juggle two kids and make sure Maddie didn't run out into the street and get hit by a car. But no, they couldn't be bothered to help me, just like the doctors office could not be bothered to change the channel on their waiting room TVs from boring advertisements to cartoons so that Maddie had something to distract her from being bored and wanting to throw medical leaflets all over the waiting room.

This whole event was our fault.....we didn't plan very well, I do take the blame for that even though when emergency situations come up it's kinda hard to plan ahead. But the situation was made so much worse by the fact that our society is so afraid of litigation and just too busy to be bothered that human kindness doesn't exist anymore. It makes me sad to think that my girls are being raised in this society and I wonder what the ramifications are going to be. If they will feel the loss, or if they won't know any different because its just the way its always been since they've been around. Who knows. Maybe by the time they are aware that liability is more important than human kindness our world and jobs will be run by robots.....not too far a stretch from the way things are now.

This is just a test.....

testing testing 1-2-3.

I've been told that the subscription service isn't doing its job and sending emails, so I am testing it....for myself. If I do get an email, I will delete this post, if I don't, I will fire feedburner! lol

testing testing 1-2-3.

**Update**
Thanks to my lovely friend Becky, who schooled me in the ways of feedburner, I now have it set up to send emails out once a day between 5:00-7:00 pm eastern time (3:00-5:00 for my west coast readers) every day. Enjoy!

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Cheers.

Old Mac Maddie had a farm

Yesterday was just one of those days. I was tired and in a bad mood, Charlotte was really cranky because she needed to poop (she still does.....we're now on day 10) and Maddie was really whiny which is not normal for her, but annoying none the less. By Maddie's nap time I was really irritated with my girls, and I just sent Maddie to her room to sleep, no stories, just out of my hair and in bed. She napped well but once she got up it was back to the whining and Charlotte was still being a turd so I made an executive decision and we got out of the house. I think Maddie and I were just really stir crazy since we had basically been in the house for 6 days other than one quick trip to Wal-mart for medicine. I need to put in a disclaimer so no one thinks I took a sick kid out in public.....Maddie hadn't been contagious for over 48 hours and she was feeling much better, she was/is back to eating normally and her scarlet fever rash is almost completely gone although the rash isn't contagious itself.....so no danger to the public at large.

So.......we went to a local farmers market that has a pumpkin patch and hayride and farm animals and hay maze. I'd planned to do this anyway before Maddie got sick, but figured that she would still be sick during the weekend. It was a nice trip away from the house. It was a bit chilly out but that made it more festive and fall-ish. Maddie really liked the hay maze and liked the hayride so-so....she mostly wanted to get up and stand during it which was not allowed and I had to threaten a time out. Her most favorite thing were the gourds. I know, weird. She wanted to play with them and kept picking them up and putting them back and bringing them over to Charlotte to show her. And yes, Charlotte was there.....she spent almost the whole time in her stroller nice and quiet....not pooping, but quiet. I didn't really get pictures of her because it was interesting enough trying to juggle my camera and the stroller and chasing after Maddie who was enjoying her freedom in the great outdoors for the first time in almost a week. We'll probably do another pumpkin patch/hayride/farm trip at least once more before the end of the season.....thats the nice thing about living in a farm town, lots of farm opportunites. lol I think we'll need to get out of the house again this afternoon, but we'll stick to the park.

What a difference a year makes!!!

October 2007 ***************October 2008

The night out

"When you drive and the years go flying by, I hope you smile if I ever cross your mind. It was a pleasure of my life and I cherished every time, my whole world, it begins and ends with you......"
Zac Brown


I was really nervous about going out and leaving my sick baby at home, but it all turned out a-ok. Both Maddie and Charlotte really liked the babysitter....she even had Charlotte belly laughing before we were out the door which is pretty rare for our grumpy baby.
We went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant in down town Raleigh which was nice but everything and I mean EVERYTHING was really spicy. There was jalapenos in every item they made which ended up giving me indigestion within a couple of hours of eating. We got a couple of beers and had a nice time talking and taking our time eating which never happens when you have kids. We even saw Zac Brown walking down the street presumably to find somewhere to eat. Exciting!

We got to the Lincoln Theater around 7:45 and the opening band went on at 8:00. They were some unknown (at least to me) band that was okay, but I really wished that Zac Brown Band would start early instead of the opening band because I was tired. I know lame....but I am usually in bed by 9:30 and am not so good at staying up late anymore. I seriously felt old at this show....not only did I have indigestion from the spicy food, but we stood right up front during the opening band and the loud music gave me a headache, and by around 9:00 before Zac Brown Band even came on I was ready to head for home so I could go to bed. I did however want to stay and at least hear Chicken Fried, so we waited, and waited and waited.....it was the last freaking song that they played!!! lol Most of the people at the show seemed younger than us, and hyper and drunk and I really didn't feel like we fit in at all. I think that a venue where people sit at tables and order drinks and listen to live music is more my speed....I know....lame. But people packed in and the cigarette smoke and the drunks, it just felt like too much.

Anyway, we did have a good time although it was a late night and I was really tired. Dan surprised me with a band t-shirt and their CD which you can only buy right now at their live shows. I have been listening to it non-stop and I LOVE it! I hope that Zac Brown Band really makes it big because they are so flippin' talented and fantastic I can barely stand it. The vocals remind me of James Taylor/Jimmy Buffet/Dave Matthews and the overall sound is a mixture between country/rock/reggae/bluegrass So DELICIOUS! They write their own music and lyrics and they are masters at jamming....and they have a fiddle in the band which is really cool.

Check out their music here: Zac Brown Band My favorites are Chicken Fried, Highway 20 Ride, A Different Kind of Fine and Whatever It Is.

Check it out!