There's a Recession? Ah! Blog It!

So apparently there is some sort of recession going on and we should be doing some sort of economic stimulus. I don't really know much about it, since I avoid the news like the plague. But I hear it's happening, and it's affecting even the bloggers here in the blogosphere! It may even strike on of you--or, heaven forbid, ME!

But don't worry, there is a plan!

August is Blog the Recession month, hosted by Motherhood Uncensored!



What this means is that those of us who read blogs should actually visit the blogs. That's right, click off your reader/feed and get thee to the blog! And maybe even click around a bit. Check out other pages. Check out links. Those extra clicks might mean the difference to some poor, starving blogger. Even for those of us who don't have advertising (at least not yet), the extra page views and time on page can really mean a lot. If you are feeling crazy, you could even leave comments--I especially love the conversational aspect of blogging/comments.

As for me, I always open the blog from my reader. But I will be doing my part by going down my and other's blogrolls and finding new blogs. Sure I'm exhausted and super busy, but I will do it for You! And you. And you.

So please, go click some blogs. You can make a difference. Think of the children!!

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In other news, I got two solid chunks of sleep last night! Not as good as sleeping the night through in my own bed, but I will take whatever the Pumpkin gives me.

Random Thoughts From An Exhausted Mama

I had a whole post written out in my head about how I get along well with those of the male gender and how it's important to me to friends with men, not just women, and hear the male perspective which is why I frequent blogs by dads so much. But other than that basic sentence all I can think of now is: I like boys. Not like like. Just like. Except my husband. I LOOOOOOOOVE him.

And that is just not a good post.

After being up for 2.5 hours with The Baby Who Would Not Go Back To Sleep No Matter What I Did, being rescued by Londo (did I mention I LOOOOOOOOVE him?) and sleeping at most 5.5 hours last night, I simply can't think straight. Which is great when I have a super busy day at work today in which I'm require to both Think and Explain Clearly in Writing and Speaking. This is proving to be difficult.

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So instead let me attempt to entertain you with the names I've given to our travel mugs:
-The One That Leaks
-The One That's Too Big for My Cup Holder
-The One That Coffee Slips Out of the Gap in the Lid When It's Supposed to be Slid Shut
-The One That You Have to Use a Utensil to Pry Off the Lid
-The One That You Can't Ever Get the Last Sip from the Bottom (and I need every last sip)
-The One That Doesn't Have a Handle
-The One That Londo Prefers So I Try Not to Use
-The One That Surely Has Lead in the Paint
-The One That Is Way Too Small and Doesn't Give Me Enough Caffiene
-The One That I Prefer To All the Others When It Is Clean

This morning I used The One That Coffee Slips Out of the Gap in the Lid When It's Supposed to be Slid Shut, which is why I've got a little coffee stain on my shirt.

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And now, how about some ranting about drivers:

Why do people not get traffic circles? Hello? When you are in the traffic circle, you do not yield to the cars coming into it. They yield to you. And they really should be yielding to you--they have a big red yield sign, so why don't they yield??? This is not just the law, it's also common sense. Think about a traffic circle. It only makes sense to keep the flow of traffic in the circle going while those who want to enter the circle wait for an opening.

Speaking of yield signs and yielding in general, why do people not yield when they have that sign? Like when they are on ramp to a highway or a ramp to any road really. If you are coming onto a road, you are the one that yields. Usually there is a sign that reminds you. It is up to you to merge onto the road. And yet, people constantly just barrel their way onto the highways or roads assuming other people will just move out of their way even though they have the right of way. You know what they say about assuming, don't you? But in this case, it's only the "u."

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Why is it that when I feel like I am finally getting a handle on this parenthood thing, even the hard exhausting nights, the Pumpkin throws me for such a loop? It's like once I finally think things aren't so bad even when they are tough, she says, "Oh yeah? Take that!" And I'm down for the count.

I did not see last night coming. We've been having tough nights, but I thought surely after 1 hour, 1.5 hours, 2 hours, etc. she would go back to sleep and we'd happily co-sleep until morning. I could handle that. Except apparently I could not handle longer than 2 hours.

I love the Pumpkin. I really really do. With all my heart. And actually she's in a really fun and exciting stage which we've really been enjoying. But the sleep! I should say, but the lack of sleep! I know it's not her fault that she's having trouble sleeping. She has baby insomnia or something. We've gotten through all the other sleep regressions. We'll get through this too. Apparently it's time to batten down the hatches and go back into survival mode.

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I'm sure I could go on with more random crap that's annoying me today, but I still have loads to do at work. And really, when I'm this cranky I try not to talk or write too much. Not my best side.

I hope everyone else is having a better day than I am.

Not Funny Haha

As I mentioned yesterday, I realize that I'm not that funny in my writing. I can actually be pretty funny in person, but I think my humor is best during back-and-forth exchanges with other humorous people. I have been known to make groups of people laugh without resorting to corny jokes, including during work meetings. But I realize that my writing is not that funny. I think I can be amusing (I hope I am amusing), but not haha funny.

Black Hockey Jesus* recently wrote a post asking people to submit to him their best posts, and I thought about it. And thought about it. I realized that I was searching in my head for a post I thought was funny enough, not just good writing, but funny. The best ones I could come up with were the ones my husband wrote.

This does not surprise me. Here is the thing: in our relationship, Londo is the funny one. I think I make a good supporting character for a comedy--not the comedic sidekick, but good support of a funnier character. I can play really well against other's who are funny and I can crack a few good ones with really good timing. But when I decided to start a blog, I begged my husband to agree to post occassionally. I told him flat out that I'm not the funny one, and that I needed him to provide some good laughs. He agreed, but he has been busy with other things and not posting nearly as much as I wish.

So all of this to say... I don't know... I'm sorry I'm not funnier? I like to think I'm interesting, caring, understanding and a decent writer. So at least there is that. And I'll be thinking long and hard about which posts I think are my best or that I just like the best. I realize now that they don't have to be funny, just ones I like.

I'm okay with not being the funniest person in writing. I hope that I amuse and at least entertain people. I think that some of the things the Pumpkin does are very funny, and I can at least post about those. But for LOL funny writing, I suggest going to other blogs written by really funny people. That's what I do.

*If you have not read Black Hockey Jesus yet, get over there pronto! Especially if you like LOL funny writing. There is a reason everyone is talking about him--it's because he is hysterical. His kind of humour is the kind I personally love to hear/read.

Question of the Week - Online Vs. IRL

I've been thinking a lot about blogging lately. Maybe it was all the hubbub around BlogHer (which I really wanted to go to, but just couldn't afford this year). Maybe it's just part of me feeling introspective lately. Also it's probably cause an online friend emailed me and mentioned something about my "online persona." So I really started thinking about myself and how I am online versus in real life.

I really think that overall, I'm pretty much the same online as I am in person. My personality and my voice is definitely the same. I'm generally this open in real life. If people ask how I am, I tell them that I'm exhausted because the baby woke up at 4:00 this morning and didn't go back to sleep (this is what happened this morning, so please pardon any typos or poor writing skills, as I'm exhausted). I try to be supportive and understanding of the people around me. I get annoyed with things, and I vent about it. That's just me.

Also, I write the same way I talk. This is why I don't always even write in complete sentences. Or why I start sentences with "and" and "but" all the time. I know I'm doing it, but I'm okay with grammar faux pas as long as it's a style choice. It's so my real life voice comes across in my writing. I've had a few people tell me that they've read a comment I wrote somewhere and known it was me before they saw my name. It's cause I gots style, baby! Maybe not good style, but my own style and my own voice.

But there are things I don't do online. There are aspects of my personality or thoughts in my head that I save for venting phone calls to friends keep to myself. Which brings us to the Question of the Week...

What aspect of yourself do you not share online?

For me, the things that pop to mind immediately are cursing, venting about family or friends, and sex talk. IRL, I cuss pretty bad. Sometimes, I feel like I should just curse here on my own blog... but... I think it might make some people uncomfortable. And I can usually find other ways to get across my frustration. Plus, as Londo keeps pointing out, I need to curb the cursing in front of the Pumpkin. (I'm a work in progress.)

I keep my venting about family and friends offline (I totally mean that in the literal sense!) because there are IRL friends and some family members who read this blog. Even if I didn't tell a family member about the blog, what if they discover it someday? The thing is, if I'm just venting that means that something might have annoyed me or I'm annoyed with a situation. I love my family and friends and don't harbor bad feelings towards them. If I have a real issue, I bring it up with them. So why would I vent about a little thing here and have the possibility that it would be a sore spot that could possibly never heal over? So I just leave it out of this medium. No need for that here.

As for the sex talk, I will admit that IRL, I love to talk about sex. I've got a great relationship with a very good sex life. I think it's an important part of life. I talk about it the same way I'd talk about shopping or changing diapers (except it's way better than those things!). I have mentioned before that my dream job would be a romance writer. That's how comfortable I am talking about sex and romance. And yet, on this blog I'm pretty much PG or PG-13. Even the post I did talking about getting in the mood was probably PG-13. And I can be R and sometimes even X! The main reason I don't let it all out? My husband. He also has friends, some family and even a coworker or two who read this blog. He is not quite as inappropriate open as I am, and he would be uncomfortable if I gabbed on about our fantastic sex life.

Now, there are two other minor things occur to me, which I plan to write about in separate posts. I'm funnier in person than I am in writing. Also, at my core, I'm a big flirt, but since I'm in a happy relationship, I tend to flirt only with my husband or in certain circumstances that I know are safe and no one will misinterpret.

So there it is. I'm mostly myself here and in comments elsewhere. How about you? What do you hold back when you are online? How do you differ from your online persona?

Cara Mama - No Longer a Bambina

Cara Mama,

I'm no longer a baby. I'm really a toddler now. I don't babble like a baby--I babble like a toddler, with realistic sounds and real words stuck in here and there. I don't move like a baby--I move like a little child who climbs and runs and hits and kicks. I don't even cry like a baby anymore--I let loose with my cries, and more often than not turning it into a real tantrum!

I'm growing up, Mama. When we get ready for bed, I like to stand up on my steps at the sink and brush my own teeth. When we are going places, I want to walk on my own. I want to go up and down the stairs on my own and not be carried. I want to be able to use my spoon myself and get my snacks myself. I want to hold my bottle myself. I want to do so many things myself, even things you say I can't do myself yet. I want to climb on everything and get down myself.

Thanks for letting me do all these things. I do appreciate you being there to help me and guide me. But I also appreciate you letting me try things and stretch myself. I am a toddler, and I'm learning new things all the time.

But I suppose I'll still be your baby, your bambina.

Ti amo,
Pumpkin