I think my cat is bigger than you.

Letter to Target:

I wanted to take a moment and express my extreme displeasure at the way that Target has handled the Britax Marathon carseat pricing error on your website on Sunday, 11/16.  Your website listed the carseat at $43.  I, like many other parents of young children, thought that Target was giving a fantastic price break to families during tough economic times and the prelude to the Christmas shopping season.  I ordered two of these seats.

I just received an email that this was an error and Target canceled my order. I think it’s appalling that Target would refuse to honor this price error.  Not only will I not buy any car seat from Target, I won’t buy anything else there this Christmas season.  I have already been aggravated by return policies, registry policy changes that make a registry almost impossible to use if a gift giver doesn’t remember or receipt or you dare to change your mind, and general unwillingness to work with the customer.

This is the last straw, and I have no desire to buy things from a store that I can’t trust. I will never again believe that an advertised price is what I will actually pay at Target.

I apologize if this has arrived at the wrong address.  I could not find any place to comment about Customer Satisfaction, which to me speaks volumes about Target’s consumer philosophy.

Regards,
Erin M.

I’m glad that the election is over and that so much of the country feels refreshed and renewed by our new president-elect.  Really, I am.

But I’m tired of the implication that anyone who voted differently is an uncaring, unintelligent, non-progressive moron who was personally responsible for anything bad that happened in the last eight or twelve years.

I think people think the President a lot more power than he (or she) really has.  There’s a lot of power in that office, but change doesn’t start or end there.

You have the power.  You give it to your President, your Congressional representatives, your state and local representatives, your employers, your teachers, your neighborhood businesspeople.

You also have responsibility. Take this energy and sense of renewal and hope, and use your power and act responsibly.

Me? I wouldn’t have been happy with any election result.  There’s not much place for an anti-abortion, anti-death penalty, education and children’s rights, social moderate, fiscal conservative in any current party.  I don’t begrudge anyone else’s happiness and joy; I’m just sick of being called an idiot.  That’s all.

Seth does not like modeling

Originally uploaded by dormousie

… but he has to model when his mommy actually finishes knitting something for him!

Actually, now that I think of it, these are the first items that I’ve finished specifically for Seth. Adelle gave me this great blue-green cotton yarn way back when we still didn’t know if Seth was going to be a boy or girl. As you may recall, George, we called Seth “Bunny” before he was born. So of course he needed a bunny hat. I thought about trying to get it done before we went to the hospital, but that thought lasted about five minutes.

So tonight the Bunny Tail hat came off the needles, and Seth had to wear it immediately. He also needed to wear the matching kimono sweater. It’s all perfect for Houston … cotton, so not too warm for the weird warm days we have in the middle of winter, easy to layer, etc.

Although he may not like it now, these pictures will be perfect for his 18th birthday someday.

2.1 miles, 31 minutes

Originally uploaded by dormousie

It was a struggle to get out there today … I did *not* want to go for the walk/jog. I pushed myself out for many reasons:

1 - It’s great time alone for Seth and me. We bought the carseat adapter for the jogging stroller, so he’s strapped in and riding along with me. Since he’s facing me, we can “talk” and make noises while I walk.  He loves being outside.

2 - I said I would do it. To the group of August 08 moms I hang out with online, in my head, to Will … and I have to do it.

3 - I asked Will to get the stroller out of the car. I couldn’t leave it sitting there after he took the time to get it out for me!

Today was the first day of this week’s “up the ante” walk. Last week I did jogging intervals of 30 seconds every minute and a half. Today I started 45 seconds of jogging every minute and a half. I can’t remember what the actual Couch-to-5K schedule is, but I decided this works for now.

I’ve started to take a photo of Seth and me at the end of every walk. I use it to record the distance and time, and it’s fun to see the changes in both of us. Someone moves a little too much for the cameraphone sometimes, but what can you do?

That’s my thing, apparently.

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test…

Conscientious, Fulfilled, and Spiritual

30 Renaissance, 21 Islamic, 26 Ukiyo-e, -34 Cubist, -40 Abstract and 8 Impressionist!

Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy

Your result for The Director Who Films Your Life Test…

Sofia Coppola

Your film will be 72% romantic, 21% comedy, 27% complex plot, and a $ 29 million budget.

Take The Director Who Films Your Life Test at HelloQuizzy

I don’t know what my wholesale warehouse karma is, but it seems like every time we go we have the same situation.  We’re starting down the long row of cars in the parking lot, pushing a buggy full of chicken breasts and toilet paper, and we spy some idiot leaving his or her cart behind our car.  It’s a million cars away and there’s no way to get to it in time, and the inconsiderate jerk drives off before we can say anything.

Not this time.

On Saturday I was back at the warehouse club, stocking up our freezers after getting rid of Hurricane Ike-thawed meats and produce.  (Ugh.)  I’m strolling out to the car, checking my receipt to see what I forgot, and it happens again:  I spy a Cart Jerk leaving his cart behind my car.  Full of the post-pregnancy hormonal rage and lacking the nine-months’ pregnant belly I had the last time this happened, I take off running, pushing that cart for all I’m worth.

“Excuse me!  Excuse me!” (Run, run, run, and flail.)

Cart jerk, this time a teenager with Attitude, turns around, and his mother gives me half a stare.

“Excuse me …” I’m stopped directly behind their truck now with my own big cart.  “You just left your cart behind my car.”

Cart Jerk does that pseudo-rapper arm thing, like he’s going to give me a hug, and wanders toward the cart.  He gives a cocky fake smile and says, “You could have just moved it.”

My head implodes a little. “You could have just put it where it belongs.” I show great restraint and don’t mention that the cart return is on the other side of their parking space.

Cart Jerk replies, full of Cocky Pseudo-Rapper Teenage attempts at Being Threatening, “I could just do what I want!”

“Yes, you could, but thank you for doing this,” I reply, trying to ignore the Threat Attempts.

The mother sits in her truck cab, probably not aware of what just happened because I’m pretty sure she doesn’t speak English and my Spanish isn’t good enough when I’m mad to adequately get through this situation.  They get in, leave the parking space, and drive off, having left the cart behind the car on the other side of them.

And some wonder why I don’t believe in the inherent good of every person.

So.  Seth has already seen two big hurricanes headed his way in his five short weeks of life.  He also had two tropical storms approach during the last four weeks I was pregnant.  I’m starting to think this child is a hurricane magnet. 

When the models started showing pretty consistently on Wednesday night that Ike was moving toward Houston, we decide to pack the car and leave after one of Seth’s early morning feedings.  “Packing the car” meant loading the two cats, the dog, our things that we’d need should our house blow down, and the things we’d need for a week or more in Dallas plus the three of us.  I packed, Will loaded, and we were on the road to Dallas at 6:00 a.m.  At 7:30 a.m., we heard the announcement that our zip code would be under a mandatory evacuation at noon. We high-fived each other for getting away before the traffic got bad.

Our neighbor stayed through the storm and has been using his generator to charge up neighborhood refrigerators.  He says that we lost our gate, but nothing else really happened to our house.  We’re pretty grateful for that, considering that we’re so close to Galveston!

We’re fine and will stay in Dallas through this weekend, at least.  And now, the baby calls.  I’m not online much because we don’t have wireless here. Talk to you later - thanks to everyone who has been checking on us!

On Monday, August 11, we welcomed Seth William to our little family. He was born at 3:26 p.m., weighing 6 pounds and 12 ounces and measuring 20 inches.  We’ve been home since Wednesday evening, and it’s been great.  I am still pretty sore and we’re all tired, but we’re slowly adjusting to being three instead of two.  Seth has had some jaundice that required daily check-ups at the pediatrician, but fortunately that seems to be on the way out now.  He’s eating very well (ow for Mommy sometimes), and he’s started gaining back up to his birth weight.

Will is picking up my mom from the airport now, so we’re going to get a few tips and lessons from the master!

So I’m awake again at 5:22 a.m. — I got up around an hour ago — and dithering aound on the internets until Tropical Storm Edouard arrives and takes away our electricity.  Maybe we’ll be lucky and that won’t actually happen, but I thought I’d get my morning reads in anyway.

This week’s big news, other than the French-sounding Tropical Storm that no Houston newscaster knows how to pronounce, is that we now have an approximate arrival date for the Bunny-Mouse!  My asthma keeps being a pain to deal with, even more so now that Bunny has grown enough to have his/her head all the way down and still keep the butt and feet tucked into my lungs.  Restricted lung space on the interior and exterior is not fun.  My blood pressure has also started to rise whenever I get up and, oh, I don’t know — walk for any length or distance like from the waiting room to the exam room.  My OB is usually hesitant about inducing first-time moms, for which I am very grateful, but yesterday at our appointment she suggested that we could start a slow induction on Sunday night and see if Bunny will cooperate.  If Bunny doesn’t arrive by Monday night, we’d take a break, rest overnight, and then start again on Tuesday.

I was really torn about that idea; ask Will, I was almost in tears in the office.  On one side, I really didn’t want to go the induction route at all.  I wanted Bunny to take his or her time, but preferably be a little early.  On the other side — I CAN’T BREATHE.  I haven’t been able to breathe since December, and I’m exhausted.  I’m on so many medications that the pharmacist knows me by name and by sight.  I also haven’t made any progress labor-wise in the last three weeks, and I can’t sleep through the night because I end up needing to wake up to … you know, breathe.

It was the slow, careful approach that decided me.  I feel like I get the virtual glares from the über-crunchy mothers on the baby sites, but whatever.  I think this will be better, healthwise, for Bunny and for me.  And really, that’s all I want — for Bunny to get here and be healthy!

So, Bunny, you’re on notice:  you can still come before Sunday, but after that we’re going to help you out a little!