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July 16, 2003
The Mouth of the South 7/16/03
Jaida has always been a smart-aleck but lately it’s getting worse. Hmm, wonder where she got that from? Anyway, I have tried to explain that she can’t talk to me or other grown-ups in certain ways but she doesn’t get it. I think in her eyes, everyone is equal. She’s been repeating a lot of what other adults have been telling her, I’m sure. For example she didn’t want to get her hair combed last Saturday so she told Mom, “I don’t want to get my hair combed, do you understand me?” Once when I was calling her name and she appeared to be ignoring me, she finally answered. “Stop calling my name, I heard you!” When Mom tries to tell her that it’s not nice to talk to me that way, she gets snappy with her too. So that gives you some idea of what has been going on in our house lately.
Frustrated doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel. Yesterday after I left the chiropractor, I stopped at Gap Kids and got her a new pair of shorts. This morning she didn’t even want to try them on. I was hoping she would want to wear them instead of the skirt she was insisting on but no, “I have shorts in my drawer already!” I told her that I thought she might like another pair but she persisted in her refusal, “I already have shorts!” I asked her if she wanted the shorts and she said no. I said fine, I would return them and get my money back. Mom said I shouldn’t let her win so easily, but I don’t have much fight left in me. This is another example of the way Jaida stomps all over my feelings all the time. Puberty is going to be rough in this house.
Another obstacle in dressing is Jaida’s new school. At her current school, the teachers help her if she is having trouble dressing after swim time on Wednesdays. I wonder if she will get the same kind of help at her new school. Going to the bathroom is still a problem depending on what she’s wearing. I’ve been thinking of replacing all the snaps on her pants with Velcro. She still has trouble with snaps and zippers. Mom bought her a pair of shorts that had snaps all the way down the fly. Jaida only wore them to school once because after we got there I realized she had not snapped them back after a last-minute trip to the bathroom before we left the house. So I decided that we would have to stick to pull-on pants and shorts from now on.
That would be simple if little girls’ fashions were designed for little girls. Most of the choices I’ve seen look like something for a street walker in training. As the sizes go up, it gets worse. Jaida can still wear a 6 or a 6X for now, but one more growth spurt and we will be catapulted into the 7-14 range where everything looks like Christina Aguilera’s cast-offs. Whatever happened to sweet little coordinated sets with flowers or butterflies on them? Sure, I can still find that sort of stuff but I would have to shop at those froo-froo specialty children’s stores where everything is outrageously priced and not really that cute. Even Wal-mart is starting to get a little racy. Maybe the new Target will be open soon and I can see what they have to offer before the back-to-school shopping season starts. Which reminds me, does anyone else find it odd to shop for winter clothes in August? But if you wait until it’s actually cold, you won’t find squat.
Work Woes Again
Okay, I have to get this off my chest. Ms. Hoochie is really getting on my nerves. I decided a long time ago to stop trying to be friendly to her since she wasn’t towards me. After all, we only work together and friendship is not required. Anytime I ask her something or question something she’s done (usually something she’s done wrong), she gets an attitude with me. Mostly, she forgets to put customers’ credit card numbers in their file. And of course when that person calls back, I get them and I have to hunt and search for their card number or even worse, the card’s expiration date. ARRRRRGH!!! I hate that kind of irresponsibility. I just do what my MIL used to do me; I leave her little notes on her desk or on the workorders that she needs to fix. She hasn’t taken to that very well.
Last month, before I could close out accounts receivable for June, I had to fix several of her orders. I decided I wasn’t doing it anymore. Another bad habit of hers is holding the office copies of all her credit card orders until lunchtime or later and letting the workorders go on to graphics or production before she is sure the card will be approved. This has resulted in last-minute scrambling to get payment secured because the order has already been produced or canceling a shipment at the moment it’s ready to go out because she screwed up yet again. Last week she gave me an incomplete order for a political candidate’s lapel stickers. She only had one color on the order but the person had requested two. Do you think she had charged them correctly? Of course not!
To make a long story short, I hate to check behind people. But being sort of like middle management, it is part of my job. My MIL thinks I can and should check behind everybody, from sales to production to shipping. That just isn’t possible so I concentrate on the sales staff where the monetary impact is greatest. Yesterday Ms. Hoochie copped an attitude because I had left her a note and she didn’t read it so she got pissy with me because I didn’t “tell” her what I wanted her to know. I simply gave her a note saying I was getting everybody their own email address and I needed her to pick a password. If she couldn’t read that, too damn bad. But soon, my MIL will see for herself that Ms. Hoochie needs to correct a lot about her work performance. I thought when she left back in January, we were rid of her. But my FIL called her and practically begged her to come back. I think the mind game of making her think we couldn’t live without her was more exciting for him than the prospect of her return. All these freakin’ people need therapy.
My Husband is the Greatest
Since I basically do all the childcare on weekday mornings, Steve has taken over the weekends. If we don’t have anywhere to go, Steve lets me sleep as long as I want. The kids are programmed to get up at the crack of dawn just like their father. It’s not unusual for Jarod to come stumbling into my room before dawn asking where Daddy is. I usually just direct him to the sunroom door as I turn over to shift into second gear on my snoring. Jaida isn’t too far behind most of the time. I go in and out of consciousness to the sound of laughter at cartoons and/or crying since they can never coexist in harmony for too long. I usually drag myself out of bed around 9:00 and those extra hours really make a difference.
Steve has also taken over laundry and cleaning. If I run the bathwater and gather towels he will take over and do the actual bathing and dressing. This comes as a great relief since it was getting harder to kneel beside the tub without twisting sideways to reach into it. He has really been trying to jump in and help during the hours he is at home. I try to let him know how much I appreciate his help. He was probably getting tired of me complaining about him always being on the treadmill too. ;) I mean, I’m proud of him for losing 60+ pounds since November, but give it a rest! Sometimes on weekends, he will walk three times a day for an hour each time. I think he’s obsessed.
This past Sunday we went out to brunch and then we saw Terminator 3. The restaurant we went to was a new place that has been getting rave reviews but we both thought the food sucked. Steve liked the movie since he is a big fan of explosions and such but I was a little bored. We all know how it ends, right? There were some funny scenes though and I always make up my own commentary that gives us both a chuckle. In Arnold’s emergence scene when he gets to earth, Steve whispered that he had gone back into training to make the movie. He was as naked as a jaybird so I moaned lasciviously and said, “I see.” Then in my best fake Austrian accent, “Ahh-nold, vhat nice pecs you have!” We both laughed like it was the funniest thing we had ever heard.
32 Weeks and a Surprising Development
Today I saw Dr. D for my appointment. I went to ultrasound first to take a look and see how things are progressing. The placenta is anterior and very high; plenty of amniotic fluid and Lambchop is measuring right on target. But of course there had to be one little kink in the plan, he is still breech. Technically he is half transverse and half oblique. His bottom is the closest thing to the exit and his head is on my upper right side facing more out that sideways. I now know that the strange sensations I’ve been feeling are his feet bumping my cervix. And the stretching sensations are just that, he moves his arms and legs at the same time and boy, does that feel weird. As far as his weight, that was estimated at 4 lb, 6 oz right now.
When I got upstairs, I was hooked up to monitors for the non-stress test. Since Lambchop is in such an odd position, I had to hold the monitor thingy with my finger to get a good reading. That canceled out trying to read a magazine during the test. Dr. D came in about half way through and we talked about my blood pressure (132/60) and urine being good. When he asked if I had any questions, I jumped right into my disappointment and apprehension about Lambchop still being breech. He said it worried him a little but he would do another ultrasound at 36 weeks to see if Lambchop had turned. If he is still breech, we can try an external version at the hospital. And to be his typical reassuring self, he added that he and I should just think happy thoughts until then. Oh, I also get to have a NST every week.
We talked about the weight estimate and Dr. D rechecked the gram conversion. The two measurements the tech got still came out to 4 lb, 6 oz so he was satisfied with that. We both agreed that it sounded a little on the big side but it really is about average. He looked at the strip while we talked and told me that the heartbeat was steady and reactive. That combined with the ultrasound results made him very happy. He said that if I go all the way to my due date, Lambchop would probably be closer to Jaida’s birth weight (just over 8 lbs) and if I go a week or two early he would be closer to Jarod’s (just under 7 lbs). I have to admit I was bummed that he has not turned yet but I will try to focus all my energy on making him flip. I have a little less than seven weeks left and anything is possible, right?
After my appointment I went to Toys ‘R Us and got the kids a wading pool. Then I went to my chiropractic appointment. The receptionist recently found out she was pregnant so we always do a preggo update at each visit. I mentioned that Lambchop was still breech and she launched into a spiel about how I didn’t have to let Dr. D do a version and I could find someone to deliver him breech if he was still that way when I went into labor. She also said that she used a midwife and her options were much more open because of that. I told her I was considered high-risk and not a good candidate for a midwife (they have three certified nurse-midwives in the practice we both use) but I wished I was. She can be quite belligerent sometimes and I am always reminded of Margaret Cho when I talk to her. Maybe it’s because she is Korean, I don’t know, but she does have a wicked sense of humor too.
Anyway, she kept going on about how it was my body and I didn’t have to settle for a C-section if that was the only option I was presented with. I really wasn’t in the mood to listen to her BS today, so I quickly paid and got the heck out of there. I don’t recall asking her for her expert opinion on my obstetrical care. She’s only 22 and has one child already that was born when she was 17 so I’ll chalk it up to youthful ignorance. I am going to do what is safest for me and my baby. If I feel the risk of attempting a version is worth it, then that is what I will do if that becomes necessary. But thinking back to what happened with Jarod’s cord, the whole version idea makes me nervous. If I end up with a C-section then I will have to get over it. But I’m getting ahead of myself again and I need to stop rambling.
Everybody think happy turning thoughts for us and hope that Lambchop takes the hint. Now, I’m off to have a nice long talk with this little boy.
Until next time,
Kim, Jaida, Jarod & Lambchop
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