Secular Confessions

[Cosmosmom]

DH does the dusting usually....and so he can dust around the decorative accessories.

[Bridget]

I have a shopping problem too but mine is not dept store shopping. Mine is resale. I love me a good deal!

Okay, I paid to join one of those sites that help you find a childcare provider and do background checks, etc. I got a few replies so this week I'm calling everyone. I just talked to the single stay at home mom that I thought sounded good from her profile. She has all the entry level education needed to do in home daycare. We chatted for a few minutes and I asked if she was comfortable with the hours I needed her (6am-4pm) and she replied, "Ummm. I'm not really a morning person but I guess I could try." NEXT!
Then she proceeded to tell me all about how her baby's daddy has been in jail since she had the baby but she has a really nice boyfriend....I had to cut her off and tell her I had more calls to make.
Seriously, do I just reek of someone who wants to know all the details of a stranger's life?
I'm talking to another one this afternoon. Wish me luck!!

[daylilies]

Lol...

[missychrissy]

Most of you have probably already seen my facebook status, but I have to post/vent/laugh about it here too:

How do you help someone that takes extensive notes on entering a password when logging in to Windows, then can't figure out how to simultaneously press ctrl-alt-del PLUS the password characters all.at.the.same.time?

Seriously. I cannot make this up. She's used this computer for a while now, so I don't understand why today she's suddenly having trouble with the whole concept of ctrl-alt-del then enter password.

And if you could have seen her showing me how she normally (or so she says) signs on. She was so exasperated and said, "It's physically impossible to do this!!" and stood up to hunker down in front of her laptop and spread her fingers across the keyboard. I almost lost it!!

[daylilies]

I'm certainly not computer illiterate but when I read that I was like "how on earth would you hold down all the letters to the password at once plus hold ctrl alt del? I sure hope her password isn't longer than 7 letters!"

[daylilies]

None of you are from Virginia, are you? We're going on a quick vacation there in a couple weeks.

[missychrissy]

I wish I was.

[daylilies]

I wish you were too, Chrissy!

[Gwenn]

chrissy, too funny!

I admit I'm another member of spending $100 every time I go to Target club. DH and I joke about it. We try to buy things like toilet paper, cleanser, etc because it's cheaper rhan the grocery store.

I confess I just did a home visit for one of my kids. He was getting a speech device and his mom wanted me to come to the eval. The evaluators went out of their way to tell the mom how lucky she was to have such a great school SLP. I can't help but feel smug about that, but honestly it's sad to hear they were surprised by the fact that I'm good at what I do. Most SLPs with my level of education refuse to work in schools and that's part of the reason. I really feel t's important for me to change that.

[missychrissy]

Most SLPs with my level of education refuse to work in schools...

Why?

It's awesome they spoke so highly of you!

[newmami]

Chrissy, that is a classic ID-10-T error

My Dh is an IT support person, so I hear those stories as well!!

[Gwenn]

Chrissy, three reasons. Partly money, partly a prestige thing (some like working in a hospital and wearing the white lab coat) and partly because there are so many BAD school SLPs they just don't want to be the associated. But honestly, my friend made half of what I did working at the VA so it isn't so cut and dry. I get to know my kids really well and I feel like I have more flexibility than a clinic woukd give me. Plus I live being salaried and not having to track my hours. Not to mention summers off. I could make a lot more money contracting myself out, though.

[missychrissy]

Sometimes being happy and fulfilled is better than the money anyway.

[Gwenn]

I absolutely agree with that and that's why I took this job. Although I wasn't so sure about that when DH was out of work and I got a pay cut. Money helps. But it isn't everything!

[missychrissy]

Speaking of happiness at work, remember why whining a few days/weeks back about my boss being a bully? I did apply to 4-5 administrative assistant type jobs at the time and the non-academic recruiter wrote me an email and asked me to call her. So I did, and her first question was why I was looking for positions so far outside my current job duties. I told her that when I worked as an administrative assistant I felt like I had more responsibility, was more challenged, and felt more fulfilled in that role and would like to get back into it again. That's when she told me her job...so now if I find another IT position that interests me, my application will go across her desk. Crap!!

Plus, she said my boss's name correctly and I could be wrong, but I got the impression she knows him or is at least a pretty good acquaintance. What if she mentions it to him?

[Gwenn]

Speaking of happiness at work, remember why whining a few days/weeks back about my boss being a bully? I did apply to 4-5 administrative assistant type jobs at the time and the non-academic recruiter wrote me an email and asked me to call her. So I did, and her first question was why I was looking for positions so far outside my current job duties. I told her that when I worked as an administrative assistant I felt like I had more responsibility, was more challenged, and felt more fulfilled in that role and would like to get back into it again. That's when she told me her job...so now if I find another IT position that interests me, my application will go across her desk. Crap!!

Plus, she said my boss's name correctly and I could be wrong, but I got the impression she knows him or is at least a pretty good acquaintance. What if she mentions it to him?

Aren't there legal issues regarding confidentiality for positions like that? If there aren't, there should be. Although that doesn't necessarily mean she wouldn't tell him, anyway. Sorry for the drama.

[missychrissy]

I have no idea if there are legal ramifications if she talks or not. I'm not really worried about it. I just don't want to discuss it with him if I don't have to Choose your battles & all that...I'd prefer to not have that battle & just slink away quietly. lol

I am more worried about possibly applying for future IT positions if one comes along that strikes my fancy. I already told her that I was looking to jump ship on IT because I didn't know she was the only recruiter for all non-academic positions up here.

[Bridget]

I confess that we still don't have names for this baby!
Dbf is stuck on the name Cassidy for a girl and I'm not loving it. He also likes Maximilian (?). I think I could be okay with Max by itself but I don't like the full name. It sounds like a game show. He thinks I should let him pick one gender name and I pick the other and then whatever it is we go with whomever. I'm too scared to do that! He also likes Colt and Holdem which he says is not for Texas Hold em, the poker game he plays but I'm not buying it. Either way, NO.
I like Liam and Silas for a boy and Hazel, Violet, Margo, Sadie for a girl.
Mine are better right?

[daylilies]

Liam was one of our top names for a boy. I agree Holdem is weird! I have to admit Cassidy is kind of cute, but not Maximillian. Yeesh...
I like Hazel or Violet the best out of your girl names.

[missychrissy]

I don't think I'd let him name a dog, Bridget. I'm sorry

[Cosmosmom]

I confess that we still don't have names for this baby!
Dbf is stuck on the name Cassidy for a girl and I'm not loving it. He also likes Maximilian (?). I think I could be okay with Max by itself but I don't like the full name. It sounds like a game show. He thinks I should let him pick one gender name and I pick the other and then whatever it is we go with whomever. I'm too scared to do that! He also likes Colt and Holdem which he says is not for Texas Hold em, the poker game he plays but I'm not buying it. Either way, NO.
I like Liam and Silas for a boy and Hazel, Violet, Margo, Sadie for a girl.
Mine are better right?

I like Cassidy myself but than again our girl name is Katherine Cleo and we would call her Kasey.
I also like Max but would do Maxwell for the full name, not Maximilian. Big NO to Colt (sounds like a soap opera name) or Holdem. I'm personally not a fan of Liam or Silas.
Violet is cute too...that would be one my short list.

Trying to think of maybe combining names like Liam Maxwell or Maxwell Silas would work.

[stash]

I love all your names, Bridget. Dude, I would so attend your birth to help if I were there. Dammit.

I confess there's a thread in my birth month about babywise that's breaking my heart. How can you possibly let a newborn cry?!

[missychrissy]

poor babies.

People are crawling out of the woodwork with bizarre and crazy computer problems. I suspect it's simply that they know my boss isn't here and they're psychologically freaked out about having just 1 computer support person. Today's 'emergency' was that a brand new computer was running very slow. When I went down there, it looked normal to me. What does she expect? The large Excel file to open instantly?

[Bridget]

I don't think I'd let him name a dog, Bridget. I'm sorry

Speaking of naming a dog you should have heard him and Savana argue about what to name Koa when we first got him.

AND speaking of Koa. I just got an email from the woman who came and got him the day we said goodbye and she said he's been placed with a couple that doesn't have, nor will have any children and he's doing great. He's in an intense training program to work on his "resource gaurding issues" (ie, snapping when he thinks someone is taking something from him) and some other minor issues he had like barking and pulling on the leash during walks.
Point being, she said they love him so much and he's doing great. That's a big weight off my shoulders. We sure miss him around here but since I caught dbf sleeping for 45 minutes last week while Kai played alone in the living room (I had brought Kai up to spend the day with him because I felt his cough was too much to be with the other daycarcare kids. I knew they were laying down for a nap but then I heard Kai's feet pitterpattering so I went up to check the situation. I sat at the top of the steps and supervised Kai and the sleeping kids downstairs just to see how long it would go on. I had to wake him up when the kids downstairs started to wake up) I know I made the right choice as it was never realistic that the kids and the dog wouldn't be alone together.

[demigraf]

I confess there's a thread in my birth month about babywise that's breaking my heart. How can you possibly let a newborn cry?!

I'm glad your room has you to provide the contrasting viewpoint.

AND speaking of Koa. I just got an email from the woman who came and got him the day we said goodbye and she said he's been placed with a couple that doesn't have, nor will have any children and he's doing great. He's in an intense training program to work on his "resource gaurding issues" (ie, snapping when he thinks someone is taking something from him) and some other minor issues he had like barking and pulling on the leash during walks.
Point being, she said they love him so much and he's doing great.

That's awesome for Koa. I'm still so sorry you had to give him up, mama.

[3andMe]

I confess that we still don't have names for this baby!
Dbf is stuck on the name Cassidy for a girl and I'm not loving it. He also likes Maximilian (?). I think I could be okay with Max by itself but I don't like the full name. It sounds like a game show. He thinks I should let him pick one gender name and I pick the other and then whatever it is we go with whomever. I'm too scared to do that! He also likes Colt and Holdem which he says is not for Texas Hold em, the poker game he plays but I'm not buying it. Either way, NO.
I like Liam and Silas for a boy and Hazel, Violet, Margo, Sadie for a girl.
Mine are better right?

I like all of your names, Bridget. I do also like Cassidy, Max (by itself), I like Holden (not Holdem) and dh and I were considering Colter for Soren. It was one of our top five names, I think. It resounded more with the rugged, Western Wyoming cowboy background I had.

It drives me crazy that you don't have a ticker. I can't remember when you are due or how far along you are. Are you going to find out if you're having a boy or a girl?

[Gwenn]

I like Liam, Margo, and Sadie. Hate, hate, hate Holdem. Please, Bridget, whatever you do, see that you come up with the name.

I confess I had a freakishly good day at work today in terms of how well the children did in therapy. Like, so incredibly abnormally good I'm a little afraid of how bad tomorrow will be to make up for it. The best part was my one little girl with a degenerative disease said "gababa" after I said "gorilla." She occasionally (and less and less frequently) will produce words that she learned before she began to decline, but in the 2.5 years I've known her she's never once imitated anything I've said. She did it multiple times for several words, and then asked for "book" and read a book with me ... I've spent years trying to teach her to request objects and activities with absolutely no success. What happened?

[Gwenn]

I am watching the most interesting thing on Netflix! It's a Nova episode called Dogs Decoded and it's all about what scientists have learned about dogs. I just started watching and they are talking about how human faces show emotion asymmetrically and people look at the left side of the face first when they look at someone (I never knew that). The scientists showed dogs pictures of humans, dogs, and inanimate objects (like doghouses and trees) and measured where their gaze fell. When looking at dogs and inanimate objects, they looked at the center, and when they looked at human faces, they look at the left side first. How could they know to do that? So I tested with my dogs and they are totally looking at the left side of my face every time I call their names! I can tell by the angle they are cocking their heads! Sooo cool!

Okay, I know I'm a geek...

[daylilies]

Is there anything OTC, herbal etc. I can take to calm myself down? I think I'm a control freak. If Josh wants to do something one way and I want him to do it another, I get really uptight even if it doesn't really matter which way it's done. I'm always concerned with teaching him the "right" way to do things even if another way is more fun or has the same result. I find myself overreacting to the stupidest things before I can even stop myself. What can I do?

I'm really really picky about certain details. Like we washed the curtains the other day and DH put them on backwards so the tags are showing and it's driving me crazy. I come across bad drivers and it ruins my day. Stupid stuff like that. I'm so sick of being so uptight about everything but I can't seem to stop. It's exhausting. I've read books, I know all the gentle ways to approach issues with Josh and things like that, but when I'm faced with a problem my first reaction is to react not so nicely, and I see Josh imitating that in his reactions. I need to stop before he permanently becomes the same way.

[Gwenn]

If you want to try something herbal, DH swears by Valerian root. He takes it to relax and not stress out about everything.