News Junkie: A Bit of a Rant on Modern Media

Some may call it being nosy.  I prefer inquisitive and curious.  It stated at an early age.  Whenever I heard a siren near my house, I wanted to find it and see what was happening.  The local shopping center caught on fire when I was in elementary school, and I remember begging my mom to come with me to go watch the scene unfolding.  To be fair, it was well within walking distance from my house. Just sayin'.

My earliest memory of news junkie-ness was the Challenger disaster.  I was in middle school and had a vague personal connection to one of the astronauts, Judy Resnick.  She was my dentist's niece and he always told me about her during my visits. I remember not wanting my mom to turn off the news and reading the newspaper every day for a week.

In high school, I was fortunate enough to be a part of an award-winning, student-produced TV news show broadcast on a local cable access station .  It was then when I realized, while I loved being able to bring the information to viewers, I wasn't terribly sure I could be as "tenacious" as I needed to be to dig into people to get the scoop.  But I never lost the love for the story.

The news game changed in college.  Cable news offered wall-to-wall coverage.
OJ.
Oklahoma City.
Then, 9/11.

In the past few weeks, two riveting stories have grabbed the world;  one several hundred miles away, the Boston Marathon bombings, and one in my own backyard, The Miracle in Cleveland.  And the ultimate  game-changer, social media, completely altered the news gathering, news reporting and news consumption universe during these two events. The ability to watch a man live tweet the shootout between police and the bombing suspects was indescribable. But the flip-side of that unprecedented access was the ugly side - the rush to be the first to report something. It resulted in gross indiscretions and misinformation by traditional TV media, wild accusations with no consequences by "citizen journalists" and sensationalism by everyone at its "finest".

During these two events, I followed my Twitter feed while simultaneously watching cable and local news outlets.  Twitter was astonishing to me for the Boston Bombing coverage. I learned about the Boston Bombings from my Twitter feed on the way home from the zoo with the kids.  I scrolled and scrolled every time I stopped at a red light.  That was around 2:45 pm that Monday.  When I arrived home 15 minutes later, the cable news networks were just starting to pick up broadcasts, and I had yet to receive any breaking news "alerts" from my phone which are tied to my CNN and MSNBC apps. Even though the TV coverage was slow to catch up to Twitter, I didn't turn off the TV and computer until well into the early morning hours. On the Thursday evening of the release of the suspect pics, I crawled into bed a little before 11:00 pm because it seemed new developments had stagnated. I checked my Twitter feed one last time. Various people I follow started RTing reports of the shooting at MIT.  I rolled over to my husband and told him what was going on. He replied something to the effect of it's gotta be related to the bombings. In my head, That's exactly what I'm thinking. Too coincidental to NOT be.  On went the TV to accompany my Twitter feed. All initial reports were very careful to point out that there was NO apparent link of  the MIT shooting, a reported car-jacking and robbery of a convenience store to the bombings. It was one the first times throughout the endless reporting, the cable newsrooms (especially CNN) were finally showing restraint. Surely it was tied to the criticism of the erroneous reports from a day earlier, spearheaded by CNN, that a bombing suspect had been arrested.  The over-correction was NOTICEABLE. But I would bet, every producer on hand was chomping at the bit to run with the almost common sense idea that these things HAD to be related.  I proceeded to spend the entire night (like up until 5 AM, when I just couldn't keep my eyes open anymore) glued to my phone and TV as the events unfolded;  tweeting with a friend in Arizona about what we were witnessing.  Once a direct link between the events was established, Twitter and cable news let go of the all restraint shown earlier,  and  the wild accusations began flying quicker than the bullets on Laurel Street .
The suspects are caught....
No, they're dead.....
No, they're on the run......
Yes, one is dead.....
No, one's being arrested, NAKED!
Then the craziest - a report identifying one of the bombers as the missing Brown University student, Sunil Tripathi.
Then watching the cable news reporters in Watertown on Friday was a circus in itself.  Reporting while speculating on why a neighborhood dog is barking, why police cars are backing up....the absurdity went on and on for hours. And yet, I still watched, afraid I would miss something. But my viewing was now with a measured eye.

The Miracle in Cleveland, the event that hit my home, didn't require me to use social media to feel connected to the story. It was happening a little over 10 miles from my house. I found myself getting more and more frustrated with the barrage of misinformation, wild reports and accusations being bantered about through the media, both social and traditional.  I felt especially defensive regarding the scrutiny being placed on the Cleveland Police due to the eye-witness reports coming from "neighbors" claiming to witness horrific things going on (naked women being lead around on leashes in the backyard by men, seeing naked women chained to a wall in the attic, etc.) which, according to their accounts, resulted in minimal police contact or no police attention at all.  I found these reports suspect from the beginning, from an almost common sense standpoint. I thought to myself,  if someone were to call police reporting these things, I'm fairly certain the reports would illicit more than a cursory police visit.  Also troubling to me was that all the immediate neighbors, who would have the best advantage in witnessing something, SUSPECTED NOTHING. I watched four separate interviews with the girls who claimed to have witnessed the kidnapper in the backyard with one of the women while she was naked.  In their first interviews, they didn't show their faces and claimed that they called police, who never responded.  By the time they made it to primetime Piers Morgan, being interviewed with their mom, the story had changed.  And when asked directly by Piers, the girls said they never called police.  And when Piers asked their mom if the girls told her, she said they told her hours after it had happened and she figured it was too late to call police by then. Hmmm. In too deep with the story by then?  I wondered why would a man, who had obviously gone to excruciating lengths to keep these women secret, would walk one of them in the backyard NAKED for all of the neighborhood to see?!?! I wonder if anyone brought up these points in an editorial meeting on CNN?  Has it come to this - the "reputable" media, who is so hungry to be the first  to have reported the "smoking gun" detail, will take the "15 minutes of fame people" who are so desperate to be a part of the story, as fact and run with it?  And even though the FBI/Cleveland Police held a news conference, in which they stated the GIRLS told them they were allowed out of the house on only a few occasions, while fully clothed in disguises, to go to the garage for a short period of time;  CNN is still trying to push these neighbor reports as credible even during interviews as late as Friday afternoon.  I listened to lawyer talking-heads squawk endlessly on why murder charges weren't  levied against the kidnapper during his arraignment. DUH! Even I know they can bring further charges against him at a later date.  How's that law degree working out for ya? OY!

When does common sense sink in in a newsroom setting? When does the producer or editor finally decide that something is just not credible enough anymore and let it go?  I saw evidence of restraint  and excellence in reporting with Pete Williams and The Boston Globe during the Boston Bombings. They seemed old school.  I guess I'm still old school;  I'd rather take the truth with time, than sensationalism instantly.
I've learned my lesson. But I won't be giving up on Twitter altogether, just streamlining my credible follows :)

And as much as I LOVE Anderson Cooper - I can no longer take CNN seriously.

Forty for 40: #2 - My Youth

Hey Ladies of the '80s, a show
of hands who had this poster hanging
on their bedroom wall?! (ME!)

There was a LOT of reminiscing going on a few weeks ago.  #TBT (throw-back Thursday) was a week-long celebration. Why you ask? One simple, gorgeous and rockin' reason - BON JOVI!  I saw them in concert at Quicken Loans Arena on March 9th .  They were my first full-on MANIA band.  I remember having a complete meltdown in seventh grade because my Walkman (um, yeah - remember those things? If not, google it)  broke and my dad took it to work to give to an engineer to fix. He took it without taking my cassette of  "Slippery When Wet" out first.  The Walkman was gone for week, and you would've thought someone performed a lobotomy on me by the way I languished around the house.

Ah. Teenagers...Middle Schoolers...can't wait to experience those years from the parent side.

yeah.
can't wait.

But Jon and the Boys got me thinking about my days growing up and how much I LOVED my adolescence.  I wouldn't have changed anything about those days in my neighborhood and my schools.  I am an only child, but never felt like one. I had 10+ kids living on my block, all within +/- 4 years of my age.

It was amazing.

When we were little, the roaring of the Big Wheels signaled the start of the day; up and down the driveways all morning long. As we got older, summers were spent kicking the can, painting bases on the street and sidewalks for wiffle ball and kickball, waking up and heading straight into the pool until lunch and then back in until dinner - unless we had softball or baseball games that night. We played tennis in the turn-around behind our houses and tackle football in the field next to it.  We rode our bikes anywhere and everywhere. I could easily ride to my grandparents' house on the other side of the city, a good 20 minutes over major streets, and my mom wouldn't give it a second thought. We played in our neighbors' yards without fear of being yelled at, walked up to Southgate on a regular basis to grab an ice cream cone or to shop, or down to Henry's Bi-Rite for some candy or to run a grocery errand for Mom.  The neighborhood memories are endless.

Same can be said for school.  I loved school - obviously enough to become a teacher ;-) If I could go back and do it all again; from elementary all the way through to high school, I wouldn't change a thing. Not that it was all rainbows and unicorns, but knowing how some people are absolutely miserable through junior high and high school, I feel pretty lucky.

Now, if you ask me about college and my early 20s, it would be a different story. I guess I had my "angst" a little later in life.

I am hoping Sweet Pea and Monkey can look back as fondly on their youth some day. I will do everything in my power to provide the opportunities for them. But I think the most important thing I learned while thinking about this post, is some of the best things just happen....all by themselves.

Forty for 40: #1 - Facebook and Twitter

 It's about 6 months away.  Me turning 40.  I'm really ok with it.  Really.

But it has made me very contemplative lately.  I find myself looking at things differently. Cherishing the little things.  I am incredibly lucky in all the "major" life categories: married to an incredible man who truly could not be a better match for me and is my best friend; raising two beautiful and full-of-life children who have absolutely made our lives complete; living near (exception being my BIL and SIL in CO) all the important people I love most in my family in a city I adore.  I am truly thankful for all I have.

I though it would be fun to think about the little, quirky things I am finding myself thankful for these days.  I'm calling it "Forty for 40:  Small Things I'm Thankful For".  My goal is to get them all done by the BIG 4-0.


I've celebrated "40" with 2 friends this month. Two very dear friends with whom my path to friendship has been very different.  One I've known since we were less than two years old and have been through everything that life has thrown at us in 38 years.  She's the closest thing I have to a sister.  The other is a friend I've known since middle school, who has grown into one of my most favorite friends as an adult.  It got me thinking about my adult friendships. And I know most people think Facebook, Twitter and social media, et al are the decline of human relationships as we know it; on the contrary, I find myself being thankful for them because of the "rekindling" of friendships they've provided.  I have found fantastic adult friendships with people whom I considered casual friends in high school and my younger days.  I love that I can tweet about the Red Carpet with my favorite fashionistas in New York City and Chicago ALMOST like we're sitting in the same room.  I love that I discovered  people, whom I knew as fun teenagers, have become great adults with whom I thoroughly enjoy spending time, sharing ideas, rooting for teams, learning from,  debating, and laughing. And friends that I ADORED in high school, with whom the passage of time inevitably had us drift apart; seeing them again feels like we never skipped a beat. I can honestly say without Facebook and Twitter, I doubt that I would have found these relationships.

I know A LOT of people use these outlets in ways that are very unattractive, petty and "high school-ish".  I cannot imagine being an adolescent right now navigating growing up in the glare of social media.  I'll find out soon enough as Sweet Pea and Monkey reach that age far too quickly for my comfort.  But for now, I'm choosing to find the fun, the good, the positive -  the rest, eh...there's always the "hide from news feed" option.

BLAH. BLAH. BLAH.

Maybe it's what some people think when they hear about someone writing a blog.  Maybe it's what my kids hear when I'm telling them for the MILLIONTH time to <insert pick up, put away, stop doing something>.

But these "BLAH"s aren't the customary winter variety most of us can relate to.  I'm not in the middle of the Winter Blahs due to the weather in NEO.  Actually, it's been a pretty enjoyable winter so far. A few big snows since Christmas with warm-ups in the middle to clear everything out.  I can handle this.

No, these blahs are setting in because of the pace of my schedule.  It's gone from "everyday Mommy" pace to "supercharged Mommy" pace all because of ONE THING.

*JUNIOR OLYMPIC VOLLEYBALL*

My passion.  My love.  My escape.
Yes.  It is all of these things to me.  But it's also a monumental time commitment...which means other things have to suffer.

My family? Never.

My friends? I try not to, but maybe a little :(

My perks of free time Pinterest browsing and blogging? Bingo. <sigh>  Enter the BLAHs I speak about.

While I cannot express enough how much I LOVE volleyball season and the wonderful things that take place between January and May, it does eat away at my "mindless" activity time.

I will pledge to do my darndest to get back on track.
Hell.  I just realized I never finished my "12 Days of Christmas" ideas.  I still have 9-12 listed on my desktop "post-it" gadget. Save 'em for next year, I guess!

Tomorrow is a new day.  With it will bring my January Birchbox product review.  Bright side is I actually got to use the products ahead of time!  WAHOO!!!

On the Seventh Day of Christmas, My Cat Gave to Me...

an epic iPhone failure of Mayan magnitude.  Hence, no catchy title in the spirit of the song. No real worthy blog post about something Christmas related.  Because the pictures were on my phone and now they are not.  Along with 100s of other pictures, and most of my calendar appointments, and all my apps in the correct order or page and signed in.  There is information gone from my phone that I am sure I don't even realize is missing until I need it in the midst of a life or death struggle.  It's that's serious. Seriously.


So,  I will do my due diligence to get back on track tonight.  I am still trying to get my phone back in to regular working order. Staying up until 1:30am last night only made it functional.  There's a lot of work to do.


Word of caution, never try to restore your iPhone to get rid of spam taking up space on your memory with a cat in your lap.  Recipe for technological disaster.  Oy.

One the Fourth Day of Christmas, the Browns Gave to Me...

Cleveland Browns™

another Sunday full of mis-er-y :(  UGH.  My hubby and I went to the game today full of high hopes, like every Browns fan across Cleveland, Ohio, the US and the World. It's been FOREVER since we rode a three game winning streak.  And it all seemed to be going our way. In the past weeks, the offense had shown signs of improvement, the defense was playing lights out and there was even murmurs through the city that Pat Shurmur was saving his job.  I know, right?!?!  And to put the cherry on the "confidence cake", we would be playing the Washington Redskins minus RGIII.  This thing's in the bag, right? <insert game show buzzer sound> WRONG! It's as if the football gods said, "Whoa, let's not get too excited here Browns' fans. Yes, you have the building blocks for an offense. And yes, you are just two players away from a lights-out defense.  But really? You're thinking that maybe Pat Shurmur should keep his job just for the sake of continuity? C'mon Man!".  A lot of this ugly game can be placed on a lackluster performance of our quarterback, Brandon Weeden. He did not play well.  But, I continued to see the same problems that plagued us since the beginning of the season, which all stem from the offensive coaching staff - lack of creativity/variety on offense, poor play design and most of all lack of or willingness to adjust the offensive game plan. It's as if Pat Shurmur sits on the sideline and thinks, "Daggumit, this is my game plan and nothing's gonna make me change it."  Juxtaposed by the opposing sideline of the Washington Redskins, who handily beat us with their back-up quarterback, which had a game plan that was adjusted after the first quarter and worked like a well-oiled machine.  I certainly hope the Browns' coaching staff looks at that film and takes notes on how to USE WHAT YOU HAVE TO YOUR PLAYERS' STRENGTHS.  The Redskins found Kirk Cousins' strengths and made him look like a HOFer.

On the bright side, another loss gets us a better draft spot to fill a need.  'Tis the mantra of the Browns' fan.

 I hope it ends.


Soon.

Cleveland Browns™

MDNA = EPIC; a laywoman's review of Madonna LIVE in Cleveland

MDNA 2012 CONCERT
QUICKEN LOANS ARENA
CLEVELAND, OHIO

I am a red-blooded American child of the '80s.  Which therefore translates into a whole-hearted love affair with The Queen, Madge, M....MADONNA! I have been DYING to see her live since middle school...it was getting into "Bucket List" territory. Seriously.

 All the way back in February, tickets went on sale for her MDNA 2012 tour stop in Ctown.  My dear friend Bess got tickets through pre-sale and thus, I SAW HER LIVE LAST NIGHT!!! I was ecstatic to be heading out for the ULTIMATE GNO.  And I was not disappointed. Not in the least. Never.

Here's my brief review of the MDNA 2012 Tour Live in Cleveland; a review completely devoid of any appropriate music critic training, other than taking the most EPIC class ever offered at MHHS - POP CULTURE - to study the origins of American music. But nonetheless, I offer my humble thoughts and feelings on one of the most memorable nights in my 39 years on planet Earth...

I've never been to Vegas.  I have heard Vegas shows are a feast for the senses.  I am going to go out on a limb and say what I witnessed last night could be every show in Vegas wrapped up into one ON ECSTASY, but in a good way.  I have never seen anything so visually amazing, perfectly choreographed and supremely staged.  I cannot describe it.  You cannot take your eyes off of this spectacle and nor should you ever try to. The energy is overpowering, contagious.  Madonna is breathtaking and stunning;  in constant motion through the 2 hours of the show - only taking short breaks on musical/dance interludes for costume changes to coincide with the concert theme changes.

My lovely girl  Michelle
aka Golden Triangle Queen
(The Gianni Tree,)
and me

I do have a few offerings of advice for future ticket holders. If you're going expecting to see her rolling around on stage in her white wedding dress singing all your old time faves straight off The Immaculate Collection....DON'T.  If you're a casual Madonna fan looking to relive the glory days of 20+ years ago, this show is NOT for you. And unfortunately, I think a lot of the "MOM" crowd who showed up at last night's show was expecting that. Because that's what I heard them ALL complaining about & I wanted to punch them in the face. (Ok, no not really. Well, maybe just a little bit at the end of the night.  My feet hurt, we couldn't find a cab, it took us forever to get home. I was crabby about that stuff!)
Now, if you're a fan that has kept up with her over the years and know how she has evolved as an artist; knowing she loves to put on a production which has a message, shock value and artistry, then you will LOVE IT!  The song ratio of new to classic is about 3:1.  She brings down the house with the new stuff from MDNA and does surprising renditions of some of the classics. If you don't enjoy the production of Express Yourself (where she spends the majority of time singing the song while twirling a freakin' baton!), you should seriously check your pulse.  Vogue is the most beautiful, visually stunning thing I have ever seen.  And the finale/encore left me wide-awake with energy for most of the night even after I got home.  SIMPLY AMAZING.  My last word of advice is, don't worry about being on time for the concert.  Doors usually open at 8. DJ Paul Oakenfold is her opening act and plays music for about an hour.  He finished up at our concert around 9:45 and Madge made it to the stage a little after 10:30.  Knowing this going in completely changed our game plan for the night.  Most concert venue websites make you aware of the concert timing, but again, judging by some of the complaints, not everyone was "educated".

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN...I'll be watching her dance around the stage using her walker as a prop. Guaranteed.

Flipping Pajamas

It's really easy to think about how quickly time flies at holidays, birthdays and celebrations.  A year's time, gone. When I'm in the moment, I try to cherish it and not think, "WOW! Where did the year go?!". But that feeling sneaks up on me at the most innocuous moments these days.  One of them being when I'm putting away my laundry.  I've got a special pile of holiday pajamas in my drawer...Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, Summer holidays.  And the pile rotates once the holiday is over.  Moving a holiday to the bottom of the pile always seems to get me.  And Halloween is at the bottom of the pile now.  I'm sad it's done.  It will be one for the record books....the first one Monkey really understood the meaning of Halloween and got excited for it; Hurricane Sandy rained on us for 7 days straight, cancelled school (and a Halloween party) for a day, postponed trick-or-treat for 4 days and we celebrated with my in-laws for the first time so the cousins had some fun.

On the bright side, Christmas is at the top of the pile...

Cedar Point and 1001 Ways to Die

Is it because I'm close to turning 40? Because I really and truly am cool with it. Or is it because I'm a parent?

It really is quite a beautiful thing at night!

One of those most enjoyable days of the summer for the KrausHouse included thoughts of the most improbable ways for us to lose our lives. Ridiculous, right?  Now I'm not talking complete morbidity throughout the day...because it seriously was the "BEST. DAY. EVER!" (-Rapunzel) at Cedar Point.  But there were certain times where the most ridiculous thoughts of  our certain demise rolled through my head.  In a place which boasts the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the world for several years running;  which meant nothing but pure, constant and unbridled thrills and fun in the past, now still brings those feelings, only to tempered by the sharp, cutting fear of the implausible - 1001 ways to die by amusement park malfunction. What if one little bolt decides NOW is the time to snap as the Millenium Force rushes down it's 300+ foot first hill drop or when it careens around it's almost inverted banked curves? Or, what if  the ONE lattice-like metal bars of the gigantic ferris wheel, which just so happens to secure the cart carrying myself, Hubby, Sweet Pea and Monkey Man,  decides to snap in half as we're sitting perilously on top as the workers load more passengers?!?!

In the days of my youth I never thought such things as I waited in line for 2+ hours, in some cases, to ride the newest, biggest, fastest envelope-pushing brain child of the Cedar Fair, Inc. engineers. Two hours of standing in the blazing sun would SEEM like ample opportunity to think such thoughts, no?

Geez, am I beginning to think like my mom....

With our favorite pal, SNOOPY!

So why now is the question? I tend to think it's less about my age...and more about the beloved people in my life right now whom I couldn't live without. That kind of love, responsibility and devotion sneaks up on you at the most surprising times.  Like when you're hurtling towards Lake Erie at 70 mph held in only by a lap bar....

Forever Young

Remember that Rod Stewart song?  I love it.  I launched a fevered campaign in high school for it to be our class song. I failed. And sadly enough, the MHHS Class of 1991 is stuck with a Bad Company song.  I thought it was perfect for a graduating class...now it seems perfect for my children.  Especially Sweet Pea. She's entering Kindergarten this fall. She's always been an easy-going, agreeable kid. And so far, I think I have successfully kept her appropriately "young" for her age. I have staved off the mind-numbingly annoying Disney sitcoms; we still enjoy "Jake and the Neverland Pirates", "Doc McStuffins", "Phinneas and Ferb" and Nick Jr.  She is blissfully unaware of Bieber; still falling asleep to her "Tangled" soundtrack. When I ask "What do you want to wear today?", the answer is usually, "Whatever Mom, you pick it out." I also know that a lot of this is due to the fact that she is the older sibling and I still, somewhat, have the final influence in her choices. 


But CHANGE has already started.


I listen to Pop radio in the car.  Sweet Pea's had some favorites over the last couple years, but mostly due to what we're listening to on the iPod.  But lately, "Call Me, Maybe" and One Direction have produced "Hey Mom, can you turn up this song?" from the back seat.  Wait? What? It's not like I don't enjoy these songs.  But I don't exactly belt them out at top volume when they come on the radio.  That reserved exclusively for Bon Jovi.


And recently, Jim's aunt brought Sweets a present...an outfit from Justice.  Every trip to the mall brings a small prayer as we walk past that store, "Don't ask to go in there. Just not yet." 
After opening the outfit, Sweet Pea asks, "Mom, where did Aunt Linda get this?" 
I answered, truthfully. 
Response:  "Do we have a Justice in our mall?" 
Me, again, answering truthfully against ever fiber inside telling me LIE! LIE!, "Yes." 
Sweet Pea, "Well, we need to start shopping there." 
UGH.

HAPPY CAMPER with Daddy!

Last week, Sweets went to her first day camp, a sports camp. She had a ball! (Ha, Ha! I know, bad joke. But she did.) She made some new friends, one of whom is named Charlie.  I picked her up on Thursday and, of course, asked how her day was.  Well, the answer shocked me.  
"Charlie kissed me today, Mom.  On the lips."  <giggle>
Oh wait, it gets better.  
"He also kissed Sarah and said we were both his girlfriends.  But I don't like being Charlie's girlfriend if Sarah is too.  So Sarah can be Charlie's girlfriend."  Good answer.  GOOD. ANSWER. 




Don't get me wrong. I am trying to raise my daughter to be an independent, strong and self-assured young lady. But I just didn't want her growing up TOO FAST.  And I guess I have found that last summer of "Little Girl" is transitioning a little more quickly than I expected.  I was ready for it happen once she went to school, just not before.  But like most things in parenthood, NOTHING ever goes as planned.  So I reluctantly say, bring on loose teeth (already have one), shopping trips to Justice, arguments over radio play and all other assertions of independence. 


Now, if we were talking about Monkey Man...I've got a whole different story to tell.  Must be second child syndrome?! But, I'm an only child, so sibling dynamics is a whole new world to me....

Death, Taxes and Tupperware: A Tale of a Corny, Modern Mommy

Seriously. Don't you think?  The three constants in life.  Always there.

I had a Tupperware party this past weekend. Could that be any more suburban Mommy?  I had to laugh as I thought back to what Tupperware represented "back in the day".  As much I think I want to distance myself from the whole '50s super Mom image, the more I love & embrace it and want to put my own twist on it. Not that I'm going to start a bridge club or anything like that, but I do pride myself on having a home-cooked meal on the table  a majority of nights. And I'm also proud to say that meal is RARELY meatloaf, pot roast, spaghetti & meatballs or <any other ubiquitous American dinner>. Sweet Pea and Monkey are more adventurous in their culinary delights at age 5 and 3 than I was up until my mid-20s! I LOVE being a stay-at-home mom, but I am bound and determined to NEVER let it get boring! So bring on Tupperware....what I consider the embodiment of me as a MODERN mommy.  It's a company that is almost 70 years old and probably has the reputation of being a little corny and old-school;  but I find fascinating in its ability to change and transform into something that is still in high demand, and develop products that meet the challenges of modern day family life. I like to think my old-school corny blends in nicely with my modernity.  So, I invited the Girls to a Tupperware party + including the Dads and Kids = modern twist.  The Girls enjoyed the party downstairs, with my signature summer cocktail included, while the Boys and Kids stayed outside playing around.  And when the party was over, we all hung out and had a great Cleveland summer evening together.  Tupperware with a Twist!

My Parental "Test"ament and PSA

It's the one year anniversary of what became my husband's and my greatest test as parents, to date.  I know parenting is nothing but a series of tests with variables:  tests of your patience, negotiating skills, time management, sanity, flexibility, organization...but never a test of your love or what you would/wouldn't do for your children.  That's the constant. The universe decided to test us on that constant last June with Sweet Pea.  From this experience, I gained insight in to what friends (and parents, in general) live with while caring for a child in need of constant medical care and hospitalization.  I also found my "PSA calling" as parent in making other parents aware of the uncommon medical situation we battled through for 2 weeks.  I look back on this experience now with the hindsight of how serious it could have become, and the overwhelming gratitude that Cleveland has one of the greatest medical systems in the world in The Cleveland Clinic.

On an otherwise innocuous Friday evening, Sweet Pea (4 1/2 yrs. old at this time) woke up from her nap with an unusual fever, accompanied by no other symptoms.  I kept her on the couch for the rest of the night and by morning she was better.  The weekend included record high temps, Farm and Garden Day at the local MetroPark, a family cook-out, lots of Slip-n-Sliding...perfectly fine through it all.   Even on Monday it was all good.  Then at 4:30 Tuesday morning, it began.  Sweets woke up vomiting.  In every case when she's had the stomach flu, it's been a quick hitter.  Less than 6 hours and usually doesn't get sick more than a handful of times.  But right away, I could tell this was different.  She was running a super high fever and getting sick on a fairly regular basis.  By Tuesday night, she was complaining of belly pain near her belly button and above her bladder.  I called the doctor first thing in the morning and got in right away.  I was thinking bladder infection, given where she was complaining of her pain.  We didn't see our regular pediatrician, but I love every doc in our practice, so it wasn't a biggie. I watched him give her a complete abdominal exam, during which she only flinched when he pressed on her belly button.  He, too, thought she had a bladder infection and gave her a quick urine test, which came back negative. So, with that ruled out, the next conclusion was a bad case of stomach flu, which was making the late-season rounds in Ctown area at that time. We went home with orders of rest, fluids and rice/toast/applesauce.

But by Wednesday evening, she was unable to get up off the couch and was curled in the fetal position from belly pain.  Off we went on our first trip to the Pediatric ER at Hillcrest Hospital, with the thought of appendicitis in the forefront of my mind.  (Eastside Cleveland friends, if you have children and are in need of an ER visit, I HIGHLY recomment-if possible-to get to Hillcrest).  They immediately started her on an IV because she was dehydrated.  She literally wasn't able to keep anything down the entire day.  They ran the gamut of blood tests as well.  She had an elevated level of white blood cells.  But again, after being examined by the pediatrician in the ER, he also thought she was at the beginnings of a UTI or possible kidney infection because she was complaining of primary belly pain in the center of her abdomen. They gave her IV antibiotic and improved after the IV.  As the doctor went over his diagnosis with us, he did mention that he could not rule out appendicitis because the only way to do that was with a CT scan.  Since she was not presenting as "classic appendicitis", he couldn't order the scan because it's a test they don't run on children unless it's absolutely necessary. We were released around 4:00 am. She was quite chipper on the drive home for what she had just been through the past 48 hours.  That, however, changed very quickly.  J and I were awoken by a wretched sound.  I will spare you the details, but what was coming out of Sweet Pea wasn't pretty and it was very green.  From 6:00 am Thursday, it was a quick downward spiral.  We fought horrible vomiting and relentless diarrhea. It was so bad, that she was going while she was sleeping and not even waking up.

 By Friday morning, I knew it wasn't the simple stomach flu or a UTI/kidney infection.  I called our doctor's office back first thing.  I spoke to our pediatrician this time and explained the situation to her through gasps and tears of fear and frustration.  She ordered a stool sample test for e.coli, salmonella and a few other doozies.  Remember at the beginning, when we had attended a Farm and Garden Day at our local MetroParks?  Well, even though we ALL thoroughly washed our hands after petting the animals, I was beginning to think that maybe, JUST MAYBE, Sweets had picked up something REALLY nasty from the farm animals. I got the stool sample to the hospital lab on Friday afternoon and unfortunately, likely wouldn't be processed until Saturday. And unbeknownst to me, the tests for all these disgusting micro-organisms take a MINIMUM of two days.  So we were looking at results coming in at the earliest by Monday.  Sweets suffered through Friday sleeping almost the entire day.  The vomiting had stopped, mostly because she couldn't keep anything down.  But the diarrhea was awful.  In full disclosure under my "this is my parental PSA", it looked like spinach and smelled like something had died.  It was really like nothing I had every seen before.

J and I were on shifts taking care of Sweet Pea while the other kept, a then 2 yr. old, Monkey Man entertained.  He really had no concept of how sick his sister was and was having hard time understanding why she couldn't play with him.  By Saturday, we both thought she was started to "perk up". She was trying to eat, but it still wasn't staying down.  The poor kid didn't even want a popsicle :(  She was staying awake a little more and talking to us.  The terrible thing is, J and I had been with her for all these days and hoping for any sign of getting better that we both over-exaggerated in our minds her slight "improvements" on Saturday.  It wasn't until my mom came over on Sunday morning to see her that I realized it really wasn't getting better.  My mom had last seen Sweet Pea on Friday afternoon.  When she walked into the living room and bust into tears at the sight of Sweets lying on the couch, I knew it really wasn't as good as we were making it out to be.  Cue Pediatric ER visit #2....

The ER visit showed extremely elevated levels of white blood cells and extreme dehydration.  They started her on an IV immediately.  The head of the pediatric ER happened to working that night and was Sweet Pea's doc.  He knew immediately there was a serious infection going on. His exact words to me were, "It's serious if a kid doesn't want a popsicle." Every time he offered one, Laynie refused.  Two of the four stool tests had come back by Sunday and they were both negative.  And that began the agonizing process of ruling things OUT.  We spent the night in the ER and were admitted to the pediatric floor in the morning.  The head of pediatrics at Hillcrest was managing her case.  He literally eliminated every possibility for what could be going on with the way her symptoms were presenting.  She was even tested for PARASITES!! Ick.  When the final blood tests for major organ function came back that night around 8:00 and they were all normal, she had officially stumped the head of pediatrics.  He called in a surgery consult.  The surgeon came up and gave her another round of abdominal exams.  Guess what he thought? Extreme gastroenteritis. Yep.  That's the fancy name for stomach flu.  He was almost convinced, except for the signs of infection that she was exhibiting.  So FINALLY the CT scan was ordered and completed around 10:30 pm.  By 11:20 the surgeon was back and was completely baffled by what they had found....

Our darling, adorable, fun-loving, smart, funny, sweet and too-big-for-her-britches Sweet Pea was full of infection garbage in her belly from a lacerated and slow leaking appendix.  FINALLY! AN ANSWER! I waited patiently as he explained that the infection formed an abscess right on top of her bladder and it had been leaking the entire time.  I kept waiting for him to say, "Ok, let's get her down to surgery and get this thing out."  But he didn't.  That's not how they do it anymore.  With children so young, they treat the infection first and go back for the appendectomy later.  In Sweet's case, though, they needed to drain the abscess.  We initially thought  this could be done at Hillcrest, but found out early on Tuesday that we would be heading down to The Cleveland Clinic Main Campus and Children's Hospital.  So very late Monday night, Sweet Pea got her first dose of antibiotic to target the abscess and infected appendix.  By Tuesday late morning, she was a completely different kid.  She was smiling, laughing and even asking to EAT!  Unfortunately, we couldn't give her anything, as we were waiting to head downtown for the minor surgical procedure to drain the abscess.

Sweets in her first full
day at
The Clinic.

Always a Princess

 I cannot begin to accurately express the love, gratitude and utter adoration I have for the pediatric team that got my Sweet Pea well again.  The radiology team that performed her abscess procedure and installed the JP drain was incredible. If her anesthesiologist were a general pediatrician, I would send Sweets to her in a heartbeat. And we were lucky enough to have her on the team which performed her appendectomy as well. And she remembered Sweets even though the appendectomy was almost 3 months later :)  Her surgeon, Dr. Oliver Soldes, was kind, caring and very articulate.  Dr. Johanna Goldfarb, Head of Infectious Diseases, was Sweet Pea's case manager for her infection.  What an extremely kind, humble, helpful and compassionate doctor she is.  The entire nursing staff on her floor was incredible.  I was NEVER worried about the people who were helping heal my precious girl. Our predicted 11-14 day stay at Children's Hospital ended up being only 6 days due to Sweet Pea's incredible recovery.  I was being prepped on coming home with a JP drain and a port to administer IV antibiotics. Instead, we came home ahead of schedule, drain-free and on oral antibiotics. Dr. Goldfarb confided to me one day, after it was apparent that Sweets was on her way to a full recovery, that children who come to the Clinic in Sweet's condition are almost always admitted to the ICU.  The fact that she was in such "good" shape and so strong was a testament to her immune system.  I asked her if she thought because I nursed her played a part in her strong immune system. She replied that it most definitely did. (I include this tidbit of info not to make non-nursing moms feel bad but to remind myself that the HELL I endured nursing Sweet Pea in the first 2 weeks of her life was worth every agony I suffered - including an ER visit for severe mastitis.  And if you're expecting and considering nursing, IT'S TOUGH, but don't give up!).  My hubby got the best Father's Day gift that year...a discharge from the hospital for Sweet Pea.

Does this look like the face
of someone who's going
home?

Very early on, we were informed of the uniqueness of appendicitis in children Sweet Pea's age and difficulty in accurately diagnosing it early on.  The surgeon with whom we spoke at Hillcrest told us in his 17 years of pediatric surgery he has had one case in which he caught an appendix before it caused a major infection in a child of this age.  Pre-School and early School-Age children who suffered appendicitis don't present in the "traditional" way most people think of appendicitis:  unbearable right side belly pain.  And it very rarely bursts. Instead, it's a slow leak. If you have children around this age, keep this experience in the back of your mind.  My key phrase is "if it looks like spinach, get yourself in it - the ER, that is."

In all of life's pre-Mom "tests", I've been the panicker, the blubber-er, the worrier.  The title of "Mom" did something to me. It gave me strength.  It gave me perspective.  It gave me courage.  When the little life you created looks to you in times of need, you need all of those things.  During the entire experience, I had one moment of weakness. One time I let it all out.  While the nurses were trying to get some blood from Sweet Pea during the disease elimination process and she's was crying, exhausted and hysterical - I just couldn't take it. Thankfully, J was there to sit with her while I excused myself to the hallway and let the flood gates open.  I got it out and carried on.  That moment taught me all I need to know about my strength.  I will never doubt it.

Bio-hazard clean up?
Nah.
Just preppin' for an appendectomy.
But I saved the suit for
the next time we paint in the house :)

Post-appendectomy, August 2011

My Mother's Day Evolution

So, President Obama made headlines this week with his announcement that his thinking on gay marriage had evolved.  BIG news, right!?  Well, I found myself going through my own surprising evolution of thought this past week.  As newsworthy as positive affirmation of gay marriage from the POTUS? Nah.  But enough to make me take step back and say, "Whoa".  And it's all about Mother's Day.  Let me first say that my husband does a more than admirable, if not exceptional job, in celebrating this day for me.  He's on the ball; from cooking an entire brunch for our family the year I was about to explode with Jack to always perfect, yet not extravagant, gifts. (See my pic below for this year's)  And since my very first Mother's Day 5 years ago, I have always wanted to be the "Let's-go-out-and-celebrate-at-a-fabulous-brunch-and/or-dinner" Mom.  But this year, I found myself wanting to go in a direction I never would have imagined...I was becoming the "Leave-me-the-hell-alone-to-celebrate-Mother's-Day" Mom.  WHAT THE WHA? Shocking. Those Moms always puzzled me. "It's a day about family.", I always thought. Then when I finally became a mom, I wanted to celebrate ME as MOM, EVERYWHERE!!  But over the past few years there's been some, shall we say, "compromise" on my end because of the other Moms' (and believe it or not, Dad's) wishes in my family. And I suppose it all came to a boil in my pretty little head this past week, and I  began to see the light in the dark side of Mother's Day celebrations.  "Should I follow that light?", I thought. It does seem very tempting. "Don't get outta your PJs before NOON!". Wait, what? Who said that?  "Head to the mall. Find some shoes.", I swear that's what a voice said from behind the light.  "You won't have to remind anyone to use 'walking feet' in the mall." Oh my, this does sound fantastic! "Stop and get a Venti ANYTHING!".  It was relentless! I resisted. It tried another avenue. "Take your book. Go to the park. Read. Without having to start the same page again 10x." Heavy artillery now.  I had some serious contemplation.  The voice knew I was weak, stressed.  I was coming off of a couple rough months; my mom's back surgery and subsequent never-ending recovery, the end of volleyball season, crazy work schedule.  But then I was snapped back to the bright side.  My husband asks, "So honey, what would you like for Mother's Day breakfast. Whatever you want, it's on the menu."  My request:

And just like that, I was back.  Survived a brunch with my MIL, which my SIL made entirely herself.  Now, making my lovely SIL cook an entire brunch for us, her family and my MIL on Mother's Day is totally unacceptable ~ but that's a whole other post for a whole other day. Hmmm.  Then the hubs and I did a little yard work, which was definitely OK with me.  And then we were off to the standard Mother's Day dinner with my mom at Mom's favorite place. Was Mother's Day, 2012 "perfect"?  In the most important respects, yes. I have a wonderfully gracious and attentive husband who knows exactly how to take care of me and make me feel appreciated. I have two beautiful children who make my world complete.  But when the day was done, a little selfish spark of the dark side rose up again and said, "Next year, we're laying low at our house for the day. Maybe we'll do dinner out somewhere." Because, isn't it MY DAY? What are you Moms feeling about your day?


My Beautiful Gift:

Necklace: Dirty Pretty Things Jewelry

Sacred Heart Silver Necklace

My MOST BEAUTIFUL GIFTS EVER:

Mother's Day Affordable Style

Shirt: Nicole By Nicole Miller, JCPenney

Pants: a.n.a colored skinny jeans, JCPenney

 Turquoise Necklace: Kohl's

Shoes: LC, Lauren Conrad Kohl's

Nail Polish: Zoya BLogger Collection

A Little Late to the Party

Anyone who knows me, knows it's not surprising that I'm LATE for something.  Hence, the title of my venture into the blogosphere: Wendy Time.  Dubbed by my fabulous mom, "Wendy Time" would be about 20 -30 minutes later than the time I was supposed to be ANYWHERE.  So, yeah, I'm not the most punctual person in the world.  But it could be worse, right?  I think I make up for it with my many other talents :) I've been kicking around blogging for over a year now.  Reading my friends' blogs and Pinterest have motivated me to get going. I've got my hands in a lot of things. I love to share the things that drive me through my day in hopes of making something easier, making laughs, commiserating or just enjoying what life throws at me!  Check back in a few for my post on how to up-cycle an old TV tray set into something beautiful, useful, modern and KID-MESS PROOF!