Live blogging — middle of the night

Midnight: Girl ™ wakes up, wants out of her car seat (she had dozed off driving home from dinner). Hungry and wet, she makes her presence known by warbling a weird version of Donke Shane. Sounds like crying. I bring to her room and do that baton hand-off to Mrs. Conductor. Unlike the Americans at the Olympics, we don’t drop it.

12:20 a.m. Baby fed, changed and in bed. Wife says mission accomplished. Failure was not an option. She goes to bed. wakes me up to find her eye drops. Goes back to bed.

12:23 a.m. Crying. Let the games begin.

12:25 a.m. Told by wife to go and check on her. Nevermind I don’t know what I am doing or that I had just woken up. I trapize into the room and enter the “Temple of Doom.” Just minus the weird priest ripping hearts out.

12:30 a.m. Baby still not asleep. Instead, eyes wide open, big smile on her face as if to say, “You ain’t gettin’ sleep tonight, daddy.” I think it’s practice for when she turns 16.

12:45 a.m. After trying with the pacifier which keeps falling out of her mouth. Interesting note. She watns it but doesn’t want to hold it in her mouth. Go figure. Anyway, I make the executive decision that she might want to be held and rocked.

12:50 a.m. Baby out cold. Put into crib. Instantly wakes back up. Bookies in Vegas making money off my inability to put a kid down.  Around this time, a scream comes from the boy ™’s room. He’s having a dream (I kid you not) about green beans and carrots. I can hear him say “I don’t want to eat them. I want to eat spinach.” I pat his back and he’s back out. Really, spinach. Popeye would be thrilled.

1 a.m. Executive decision (meaning I consult with wife). I decide she might want more food. Make new bottle and put those nifty anti-gas drops in them. We are going for broke.

1:10 a.m. Back upstairs. Baby crying. Give bottle. Swats it away. Puts hands in mouth which is like a universal sign for food when you are three-months-old. Try again, plays with bottle with tongue. Looks at me and smiles. I know, she’s an infant, but I think she’s playing me.

1:15 a.m. Resolve to let her cry it out. Figure I don’t know what to do now.  So far, changed diaper, offered food, rocked, pacifier and sang to her. Eyes still wide open. Baby is mocking me. I threatened to spend her college fund by going on eBay and getting some Transformers toys from the 1980s. She smiles. She knows I am too cheap. Damn.

1:30 a.m. On the computer reading about the population changes in ancient Japan. Thanks Wikipedia. Go on Facebook. Ignored by people who I try to chat with. Baby crying.

1:35 a.m. Boy ™ screams. Scares the crap out of me. He’s instantly back out. No clue.

1:40 a.m. Back in girl ™’s room. pleading with her. Explaining that dad needs sleep. She laughs. I pick  her up and rock her. she conks out. Bookies are eying big bucks, but no whammies.  Put into crib and she doesn’t wake up. The heavens open and the Angels on High are singing. Bookies furious and put a hit on me.

2: 24 a.m. So far, she’s still quiet and out. Going to bed. Will have three or four long blogs in the morning about this as well as some PDFs and interviews with the major players. Will check local media to see their coverage.

Haves vs the Have nots

Okay, first off, I must say there are some people out there who need help. Really. I get that, and I am not against a safety net or the need for the government to provide aid to some people. Really. I am all for helping those out who truly need it.

Now, on with my rant. I am fed up with people taking advantage of the system. There. Call it the true Middle Class revolt, but I am sick of it. I am sick of the fact that I have to go to the RiverPlex which I pay taxes for and spend $19 for my family of four to swim while a group of eight people (one adult and seven kids) get in for $8. They came in at the same time and they left at the same time. Guess what, they came in two cars that are nicer and newer than both of mine.

I am fed up with the people whining about the child care crunch. Before you hit that send button on the flames or the death threats, let me say I get that some people need help. And I get that for single parents, they need all the help they can get. After having my kids alone or a night or two, I think Murphy Brown was a saint, not a pariah as Dan Quayle made her out to be.

But I am angry that there is literally no help for the true middle class. Without going into my finances, let’s just say we are paying nearly half of our take home pay on day care for our two kids. Yet there is nothing from the state to help us. Nothing from the day care center. Nothing. I was in paying my bill and some lady was screaming at the director of the day care because she had to pay $200 a month for her infant. I am paying six times that. She left in an Chevy Tahoe, late model and in pretty good shape. Oh, she was smoking which is about $5 a pack. I’d love to pay $200 a month. I offered to pay that and the guy said no. Hey, I tried.

Look, I know it’s tough all over and that people are struggling. I know that there are those out there who make pennies on the dollar and for whom government aid is huge. But there are a whole host of people who cheat and rip off the system. Like the gal at my wife’s work who reports other kids on her income taxes so she can get more money (How she hasn’t gotten caught is beyond me). Or the people who use the ER as their primary care doctor. Or the people who are at the grocery store or the drug store and using Food stamps or whatever they called now to get Ding Dongs or Twinkies.

Again, I am not cold hearted, and maybe it’s just the heat. But you know, I wish I could get a bit of help. It’s hard on those of us who are working as hard as we can just to make it. Do I want help? Not really, but I would like those who can pay up, be forced to pay and not cheat the system. You want to help the state budget deficit. That’d go a long way, I’d bet. Clear out all the cheaters and the liars. The Public Aid rolls would likely drop by a quarter or more. I don’t know but I could only imagine.

There. Let the flames begin. Hell. At least, I’ll get comments and hits.

Role of a blogger

A few people who blog locally have wondered aloud what is the point of blogging. Personally, I think it’s sheer vanity but hey, that’s my opinion. But what is the role? Are bloggers journalists or are they people who have way too much free time on their hands and a bit too much vanity?

Personally, I think it lies somewhere in the middle. Most local bloggers I read, with the exception of CJ Summers don’t claim to be anything more than a person who gives their opinion. Even CJ wouldn’t call himself a journalist though he does do a terrific job on the things he does choose to Journal about. However, others just give their opinion which is fine but it’s not complete and concise nor is it often grounded in the facts.

Look at me. I just blog mostly about my kids and how they are driving me crazy. I do this out of therapy but also because I hope to show it to them sometime in the future and find that typing is easier than writing. I want my kids to see how neurotic they made me and how I had no clue so when they are older and blame me, I can hop on the Net, find some archive somewhere (nothing ever vanishes) and show them, it’s all their fault.

I hope no one ever takes me too seriously or regards this as a necessary read for the day. I hope that no one will ever mistake this blog for anything journalistic. It’s not. it’s the ravings of a madman who is tired and stressed. “It’s a tale told by an idiot. Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

But I am curious. What do people think the role of bloggers should be? Will they replace professional reporters as some bloggers believe and hope or are they are a supplement, used by politicos and others to test the waters a bit by floating an idea to a person who has nothing to lose by “printing” the idea? Do bloggers really matter in public policy or do they cater to only about 100 or so people who monitor them. Let’s face it. Most of Peoria doesn’t even know there are blogs despite the paper and the TV stations doing stories on them. Mrs. Conductor here thinks I am in our basement working on fixing the sink down here. Ha! Crap. She’s downstairs and sees me. Got to go.

Nothing to say

If it works for CJ, it might work for me. I have nothing to say. Let’s see if I can get some comments!!!

Compare and contrast

All the attention that Jon and Kate, the people who exploit their children to Ed McManhon. Sure, the guy had issues but he rocked. His death, to me, leaves a void in the sense that fewer of the people who were part of that 1960s and 1970s era of superstar are left. You know what I mean, when we lived and died on the stars. When Frank, Jimmy and Jerry were at their prime. When Johnny Carson ruled. There was something more entertaining about show business back then. You had variety shows. You have Battle of the Network Stars. It was “cool” to be a star and the stars loved to show off.

Now, you have Jon and Kate, the couple who put the fun back into dysfunctional. Jon always looked to me, from the very start, that he hated the TV show and always wanted to slit this throat on camera. Kate always came across as someone who was in love with herself. Hey, she could be a blogger! But they are getting tons of attention for being… human. I say this show should vanish, these people should on with their lives and those kids could gorw up to be something other than a Dana Plato-wanna be. I hope I am wrong but man, they are getting a whole lot of attention during their formative years.

Father’s Day

Had a great time on Father’s day. Took the boy ™ swimming at Five Points where he dunked his head for the first time on his own and of course, dunked me a lot as well. It was a game. He’d dunk me and then somehow (wink), he’d go under as well. Just as he’d start to sputter a response, I’d note that I was all wet and very upset. He was thrilled. Love a three-year-old. But I love that swimming pool. it’s warm, the staff is very friendly and the price is pretty good if you aren’t a member. Unlike another indoor swimming pool where the water is freezing, the staff isn’t that nice and the prices are too high. Not that I would ever mention names.

The girl ™ was fussy as most infants are. She didn’t sleep much on Saturday night so she stayed home with Mrs. Conductor who wanted to clean. Girl ™ decided she would sleep which was good for everyone. That night, we had Shake and Bake chicken, my favorite. Great day.

So thanks to the wife and kids for another great father’s day. Had a wonderful time, even though the disposal broke and I still have to fix that…. ugh.

Was it just me or…

Did WEEK-TV/HOI-TV not carry the local Flag Day celebration? I remember watching their newscast and it had a long segment which was done the national NBC guys but I didn’t see anything on the local version of flag day other than Creve Coeur guy who reinforced everyone’s stereotype about that city.

Shooting at the Holocaust Musuem

A man is dead and another is critical condition after a shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Museum.  The shooter is an 88-year-old racist. I can’t believe the irony of the whole thing, a racist and bigot who wants nothing but pain for various types of people who shoots up the Holocaust Museum, a place designed to fight against such thinking and to remember those who suffered such atrocities.

What the hell? I mean, you are 88 years old, lived your whole life and this is how you deal with this. This is your legacy? Come on. Additionally, all you did, you freakin’ idiot racist, was just prove to the world why we need a Holocaust Museum. Idiot. I am a member of the Musuem and have been there several times. Each time, I have been there, I have been moved by the images and the compassion of others as well as the inhumanity.

So kudos to this freakin’ idiot, whatever his name is. Congrats, moron. I don’t know what you meant to do by your “statement,” but it failed. You are being mocked and scorned. Great way to go out, huh. You killed a guard who had nothing to do with Jews or the Holocaust and in the process got shot.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Guard’s family. His name was Stephen Tyrone Johns. He was 39. Rest in peace.

I have a headache

so I am looking for any remedies for a headache. I know, Tylenol or Advil. Fine. But those don’t work and I really don” want to take more medicine. I have heard about the hot shower and the warm wash rag on the head. Anything else?

A few more pet peeves

Such as posting a new post as a blatant way to get new hits. Ugh, I hate that. Just add to the one message or dammit, just remember you aren’t as clever as you think. I can’t stand it when people post things just to get hits.

But back to my list….

1. I can’t laws that are designed to protect me from myself. Look, I know that government needs to protect us from us. Let’s face it. Katrina showed us all how fast we can lapse into anarchy but come on, seat belt laws? Anti-smoking laws? Helmet laws? Just be honest and say the government doesn’t want to pick up the cost for people who don’t have health care. Be honest.

2. And with health care, what about people who use the ER as their personal doctor. ARGH. That’s what prompt cares are for. But if you have a hang-nail, don’t go to the ER. I did see this once. Really.  And to that end, Mr. Hospital Guy, lay off the co-pays. I dig user fees but don’t gouge the people who do have insurance and who are trying to be honest because there are free loaders out there.

3. Brussel Sprouts. Hate them.

4. And the fact that I am getting tons of Spam to my blog now from Russia. I don’t mind spam but I do mind the fact that I can’t read the Russian. I have no idea if it is jibberish or if it is something that makes sense. ARGH.