Like most new moms, I was vigilant about baby-proofing my house. I made sure all of the outlets were covered, all of the lower level cabinets and drawers locked. I moved all of the medicine and harmful chemicals well out of reach and covered the the corners of tables with bumper pads.
But apparently baby-proofing and kid-proofing are two different things.
This morning the Golfer took the boys to the park to play, giving me the wonderful opportunity to be alone...so I could clean the house in peace.
Like most cleaning moms, I had the television on to keep me company. Flipping through the channels, I stopped on Rachael Ray's daytime talk show. There was a very interesting discussion about causal sex, and even though the subject no longer (if ever) applies to me, I thought I'd stop and give a listen.
But that wasn't the part of the show that interested me the most. The really interesting part of today's show was a segment titled "Kid-proofing your home."
The story was about a woman named Dawn who, God bless her, has four young boys. As the camera toured her house, she showed the audience where the boys had broken windows, ripped up carpet, broken furniture, etc. I was horrified!
The worst part was when she took the camera crew outside to show them part of the siding that the boys had beaten with their dad's golf clubs. There were large indentions where the golf clubs had hit the siding.
Obviously, these kids have one hell of a follow through.
The poor mom, Dawn, just looked exhausted and at her wit's end. And who could blame her. Being a mother IS exhausting, especially if you are living with demon children.
A DIY buddy of Rachael's showed the audience ways/tricks to kid-proof your home, like cutting out stains in the carpet and changing out your windows with shatter-proof glass.
Uh, yeah...whatever.
How about this idea for kid-proofing your home? How about teaching your children that it is not okay to color on the walls or destroy furniture? How making it crystal clear to your children that you will make them live outside with the dogs if they continue to treat their home with such disrespect?
Just a thought.
I'm not claiming to understand what this mother lives with day-in and day-out, and excuse me for saying it, but where the hell was this mother when her children were beating the sh*t out of the side of the house? I don't claim to keep an eye on my boys 24/7, but if they were beating the house with their dad's golf clubs so badly as to leave permanent marks, I think I'd know about it.
So here's my kid-proofing tip of the day: If you teach your kids from the git-go that coloring on the walls is NOT okay, then most likely you won't have to spend money on expensive, ugly wallpaper that is washable.
Just a thought.
Cutest rooms in the house
Finally have the boys rooms picture worthy. They, of course, ended up being the cutest rooms in the house which only makes sense since my boys are by far the cutest members of the family.
These first two pics are of the Monkey's room. Since his brother moved into his own room, I turned the bottom bunk into a cool fort. Whenever it's quiet in the house, he's usually in his fort quietly playing. It doesn't happen often, but it's such a beautiful thing when it does.
These first two pics are of the Monkey's room. Since his brother moved into his own room, I turned the bottom bunk into a cool fort. Whenever it's quiet in the house, he's usually in his fort quietly playing. It doesn't happen often, but it's such a beautiful thing when it does.
The framed artwork was all done by the Monkey at pre-school. The cheap frames came from IKEA, allowing for me to have so many. I love that he's still at the age where his art is still so abstract. There's feather painting (painting with feathers), fly swatter painting (painting with a fly swatter), and bubble wrap painting (you guessed it--painting with bubble wrap.)
This is the Cheese's room that he's waited so patiently for (his bed has been in storage for the last two years.) He picked out this darling comforter set--A Solar System Adventure--from The Land of Nod. Very cute and very worth the money.
(All of those figures on his bed are Planet Heroes from Fisher-Price. If your little boy hasn't discovered them yet, introduce them to him. They've taught my boy more about the planets than I've ever known.)
I had saved the globes from my teaching days and came up with the idea to use them instead of buying a hanging solar system. The Golfer was a big help with the fishing line. I made him move each of these several times until they were exactly where I wanted them. (He was a very good sport.) I think it was worth it though.
Now we just have to pray that they don't fall on his head in the middle of the night.
1-800-Pet Meds
I've heard about pet insurance, but I've never actually given it much thought. We already pay insurance for our home, our cars, and our lives. Pet insurance just seemed like one more monthly bill that I would have to moan and groan about paying.
Freddie went for his yearly exam last week. He was going to be boarded while we were out of town, so I scheduled his exam at the same time. On top of the $20/day boarding fee, he needed his shots, some blood work, and his teeth cleaned. The whole thing was going to cost me twice as much as I was prepared to spend. I told the vet to keep him and give him his shots, but the teeth and blood work would have to wait.
We come back into town, bringing along with us our Dalmatian, Daisy, who my sister-in-law had been taking care of for the last two years. It was hard leaving her behind for that long, but Dalmatians and townhouses don't mix.
So it was now time for Daisy's check-up, making sure that she was all up-to-date so we could get her California license and registration. The state of California is very big on licenses and registrations and isn't afraid to smack you with a bunch of late fees if you drop the ball.
I took both dogs in--Freddie for his teeth cleaning and blood work, Daisy for a few shots. By the time I got out of the vet's office, the receipt was two pages long.
Turns out, Freddie had 3 rotten teeth that had to be pulled which cost an extra $65 on top of the $165 for the dental polishing. His blood work, necessary for the dental cleaning was $85. Thank God they don't make dentures for dogs or I'd probably have to buy them too since Freddie now has problems keeping his tongue in his mouth due to his lack of teeth.
Apparently, Daisy has a flea problem, which means Freddie now has a flea problem. So they were both left at the vet for flea baths which cost $30 a piece. Because of the fleas, they are now both on medication to prevent further infestations (are you itching and scratching yet?) which cost $50 a piece.
Are you feeling bad for me yet? All I know is that all of the money that I spent at the vet yesterday could have bought me a Gucci bag. A really nice Gucci bag.
Don't get me wrong. I love my pets and want to be the best pet parent I can be. But it's hard when your pets can't look at you and say, "Don't pay for that. I feel fine." Like with Freddie's rotten teeth. The vet said that I could either wait and let them fall out on their own or have him pull them. Well, there was no real way of knowing if his teeth were causing him pain, so we decided to pull them.
Now he's in pain for sure. I know because I was sent home with two bottles of pain medication that I have to give him twice a day for the next 10 days. Is there anything worse that trying to give a dog medication? I don't think so
So here we are--flealess, toothless, and $700 lighter.
Sorry, kids, no groceries this month. The dogs need their meds.
Freddie went for his yearly exam last week. He was going to be boarded while we were out of town, so I scheduled his exam at the same time. On top of the $20/day boarding fee, he needed his shots, some blood work, and his teeth cleaned. The whole thing was going to cost me twice as much as I was prepared to spend. I told the vet to keep him and give him his shots, but the teeth and blood work would have to wait.
We come back into town, bringing along with us our Dalmatian, Daisy, who my sister-in-law had been taking care of for the last two years. It was hard leaving her behind for that long, but Dalmatians and townhouses don't mix.
So it was now time for Daisy's check-up, making sure that she was all up-to-date so we could get her California license and registration. The state of California is very big on licenses and registrations and isn't afraid to smack you with a bunch of late fees if you drop the ball.
I took both dogs in--Freddie for his teeth cleaning and blood work, Daisy for a few shots. By the time I got out of the vet's office, the receipt was two pages long.
Turns out, Freddie had 3 rotten teeth that had to be pulled which cost an extra $65 on top of the $165 for the dental polishing. His blood work, necessary for the dental cleaning was $85. Thank God they don't make dentures for dogs or I'd probably have to buy them too since Freddie now has problems keeping his tongue in his mouth due to his lack of teeth.
Apparently, Daisy has a flea problem, which means Freddie now has a flea problem. So they were both left at the vet for flea baths which cost $30 a piece. Because of the fleas, they are now both on medication to prevent further infestations (are you itching and scratching yet?) which cost $50 a piece.
Are you feeling bad for me yet? All I know is that all of the money that I spent at the vet yesterday could have bought me a Gucci bag. A really nice Gucci bag.
Don't get me wrong. I love my pets and want to be the best pet parent I can be. But it's hard when your pets can't look at you and say, "Don't pay for that. I feel fine." Like with Freddie's rotten teeth. The vet said that I could either wait and let them fall out on their own or have him pull them. Well, there was no real way of knowing if his teeth were causing him pain, so we decided to pull them.
Now he's in pain for sure. I know because I was sent home with two bottles of pain medication that I have to give him twice a day for the next 10 days. Is there anything worse that trying to give a dog medication? I don't think so
So here we are--flealess, toothless, and $700 lighter.
Sorry, kids, no groceries this month. The dogs need their meds.
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