My daughter, she loves TV. She knows all her favorite characters and will ask for shows by name. She wants to watch Deigo, or Dora or Avatar. So lately living with her is like being in an episode of Dora the Explorer. Since it's always "Do you see such and such? Say such and such!" in the little Dora voice. It's really cute, at first, but after the 20th time it's a bit obnoxious. But it's great to see what things she has picked up. The things she says because I say them. She says "sure" to everything, which apparently is something that I do, but never really noticed. Although when I think she's making things up I tend to say "sure" in response to her questions, but mine comes with a degree of sarcasm, which she has not picked up on as of yet.
She can count to 9 in Spanish. I think she learned it at school, but they also count on Dora, right? So maybe the TV taught her that too.
I just wanted to share that.
Also I have 13 weeks before I have a new child and have to deal with both. At the same time. Pray for me. But really it's not going too badly. Yet, being uncomfortable is getting obnoxious though. And gaining weight is killing me, but really, it's also not going to stop me from eating 3 pieces of cake. Okay 4. Shut up about it, okay?
Friday, February 19, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Let's Beat this Idea to Death
The other day while listening to my favorite morning show on the way to work I heard about a new House Bill here in the great of state of procreation.
It says that if you're only driving less then 4 miles from your home and you're not going to be driving faster than 45 miles an hour, You really don't have to put your kids in booster seats.
The phone calls started to pour in. People were either livid about it, or wanted to argue for it.
Apparently the idea behind it, is really for parents who are car pooling. The bill was introduced by a man from Provo with 8 kids. Eight. I'm sure the only way all of his kids in the boosters fit any vehicle is if he's driving a 15 passenger van, but um, don't you kind figure that out before you have 8 kids? I don't have 8 kids and I'm aware of that.
The next day the morning show had a nurse from primary children's on the show to talk about how many kids went to the ER for vehicle related accidents now versus how many had to go to the ER after and accident before the child restraint thing came into effect for those under 8. Apparently statistics (which I am totally studying!) show that serious injuries have fallen by 50%. That's a pretty good precedent.
I get that when you're carpooling you are driving a hand full of kids a few blocks or miles, and most are probably not even your kids. It seems like common sense to me, that if you only have 3 seats in the back but want to be part of a carpool that has more than 2 other kids, you kind of can't because you can't fit that many kids into your car. Well same goes for kids in car seats, if you can't accommodate for the booster seats in your car, you need to find another car pool.
Then comes another aspect of the bill. As long as you're driving less that 45 miles per hour? Um, because it's at 46 miles an hour when those booster seats make a difference for kids?
Lots of people called in to say what lap belts could do to a kid even at slower speeds. I'll spare you the details, but you wouldn't want them to happen to your child.
The radio DJ made a great observation, that how do you enforce that? The policeman pulls you over and your kid isn't in a booster, so you say: "Well I'm only driving 3 miles from home officer." And they just have to let you go? That doesn't seem very intuitive. The only way you can enforce this is after there's an accident. How far are you from your home and how fast were you going, otherwise it's completely unenforceable.
I take my daughter 3.5 miles to preschool, I drive on roads with a speed limit of 45 miles and less, therefore I would have my choice whether I want to put her in a booster seat. I cannot imagine how badly that would turn out for her if I was in an accident. And doesn't it stand to reason, if these are your kids that you should already have booster seats for them??? What if you have to drive more than 4 miles away? Pick your favorite kid I guess.
And also, don't most accidents happen within 5 or 6 miles of your home? So I guess we're hoping it's that extra mile or 2 where the accident is going to happen, not inside our protective 4 mile radius.
Anyway, it seems like laziness put into law. I don't think I'm a car seat nazi, but even to drive my daughter one block from one grandparents to the next, she is buckled into her seat, because we cross a slightly busy street and all it takes is once to change both our lives forever. it's my responsibility to be her advocate, because she's too young to decide right now. That's my job as a parent. Are booster seats inconvenient? yes? Doesn't it seem like a 6 or 8 year old is big enough that they should be fine with a regular seat belt? Sometimes it does, but evidence proves otherwise and I'm not smarter then those people, so I'll make sure that with that evidence I'm doing the best I can to make sure my child is protected. Even if I'm only driving 3.5 miles away.
Utah house Bill 113
It says that if you're only driving less then 4 miles from your home and you're not going to be driving faster than 45 miles an hour, You really don't have to put your kids in booster seats.
The phone calls started to pour in. People were either livid about it, or wanted to argue for it.
Apparently the idea behind it, is really for parents who are car pooling. The bill was introduced by a man from Provo with 8 kids. Eight. I'm sure the only way all of his kids in the boosters fit any vehicle is if he's driving a 15 passenger van, but um, don't you kind figure that out before you have 8 kids? I don't have 8 kids and I'm aware of that.
The next day the morning show had a nurse from primary children's on the show to talk about how many kids went to the ER for vehicle related accidents now versus how many had to go to the ER after and accident before the child restraint thing came into effect for those under 8. Apparently statistics (which I am totally studying!) show that serious injuries have fallen by 50%. That's a pretty good precedent.
I get that when you're carpooling you are driving a hand full of kids a few blocks or miles, and most are probably not even your kids. It seems like common sense to me, that if you only have 3 seats in the back but want to be part of a carpool that has more than 2 other kids, you kind of can't because you can't fit that many kids into your car. Well same goes for kids in car seats, if you can't accommodate for the booster seats in your car, you need to find another car pool.
Then comes another aspect of the bill. As long as you're driving less that 45 miles per hour? Um, because it's at 46 miles an hour when those booster seats make a difference for kids?
Lots of people called in to say what lap belts could do to a kid even at slower speeds. I'll spare you the details, but you wouldn't want them to happen to your child.
The radio DJ made a great observation, that how do you enforce that? The policeman pulls you over and your kid isn't in a booster, so you say: "Well I'm only driving 3 miles from home officer." And they just have to let you go? That doesn't seem very intuitive. The only way you can enforce this is after there's an accident. How far are you from your home and how fast were you going, otherwise it's completely unenforceable.
I take my daughter 3.5 miles to preschool, I drive on roads with a speed limit of 45 miles and less, therefore I would have my choice whether I want to put her in a booster seat. I cannot imagine how badly that would turn out for her if I was in an accident. And doesn't it stand to reason, if these are your kids that you should already have booster seats for them??? What if you have to drive more than 4 miles away? Pick your favorite kid I guess.
And also, don't most accidents happen within 5 or 6 miles of your home? So I guess we're hoping it's that extra mile or 2 where the accident is going to happen, not inside our protective 4 mile radius.
Anyway, it seems like laziness put into law. I don't think I'm a car seat nazi, but even to drive my daughter one block from one grandparents to the next, she is buckled into her seat, because we cross a slightly busy street and all it takes is once to change both our lives forever. it's my responsibility to be her advocate, because she's too young to decide right now. That's my job as a parent. Are booster seats inconvenient? yes? Doesn't it seem like a 6 or 8 year old is big enough that they should be fine with a regular seat belt? Sometimes it does, but evidence proves otherwise and I'm not smarter then those people, so I'll make sure that with that evidence I'm doing the best I can to make sure my child is protected. Even if I'm only driving 3.5 miles away.
Utah house Bill 113
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Welcome to my New Year!
Holy no posts batman!
It is I! I know I haven't updated in awhile, so I probably no longer have anyone following. But here's to a new 2010!
Picking up Hayley from preschool the other day, she was in her plastic smock running water in the sink over some plastic dishes and singing "doing the dishes, doing the dishes" and it took me a while to convince her that she was done with the dishes and she should really come home with me. But it strikes me at odd times that she really is her own little person. She is almost fully 3 and a half and while 3 has been a crap shoot, its just the beginning. In a few more years she'll be in kindergarten. I'm not okay with that. She says she's not my baby anymore. She's just Hayley. I told her she'll always be my baby, but she's not buying it.
I don't know how real the knowledge is that she'll have a little brother in 3.5 months is to her yet. She seems aware that there is a baby in my tummy but I don't know that she's figured out that at some point the baby will sleep in her room and she'll get a big girl bed and be in another room. It doesn't help that every time I have her feel where her brother is kicking, he always stops. Stage fright I guess. He never quits when someone isn't touching my stomach. He just like to make me uncomfortable.
Speaking of uncomfortable: I'm now 24 weeks along and this week people are telling me that is "so far!" and that I should be excited. And have a name all picked out. Honey, I don't have anything ready. I have to get done with this semester of school before I can have this kid and I just started. We're 4 weeks into the 16 week semester, so I'm pretty sure that May is a long, long ways away.
This gestation hasn't been too bad for me. No morning sickness (I can say that now with confidence that I'm well into the second trimester) and no crazy craving for fast food and no vegetables ever. Still Christmas happened and now when I read how much weight I'm supposed to have gained. I just laugh and times the smaller amount by 2 and that's closer to where I'm at. My back has a sharp pain in it, but only when I'm sitting, standing or laying down and trying change positions. So that's fun. I'm trying to stay more fit and I'm still able to do a lot of my workouts, just taking out some jumps and high intensity here and there, so I feel pretty accomplished that I'll be able to get back in shape before this baby is 12 months old, but time will tell. I'm still sad that even now I shouldn't eat a Blue Bacon Cheeseburger, because if you can't do that when your preggo, then when can you my friends?
It is I! I know I haven't updated in awhile, so I probably no longer have anyone following. But here's to a new 2010!
Picking up Hayley from preschool the other day, she was in her plastic smock running water in the sink over some plastic dishes and singing "doing the dishes, doing the dishes" and it took me a while to convince her that she was done with the dishes and she should really come home with me. But it strikes me at odd times that she really is her own little person. She is almost fully 3 and a half and while 3 has been a crap shoot, its just the beginning. In a few more years she'll be in kindergarten. I'm not okay with that. She says she's not my baby anymore. She's just Hayley. I told her she'll always be my baby, but she's not buying it.
I don't know how real the knowledge is that she'll have a little brother in 3.5 months is to her yet. She seems aware that there is a baby in my tummy but I don't know that she's figured out that at some point the baby will sleep in her room and she'll get a big girl bed and be in another room. It doesn't help that every time I have her feel where her brother is kicking, he always stops. Stage fright I guess. He never quits when someone isn't touching my stomach. He just like to make me uncomfortable.
Speaking of uncomfortable: I'm now 24 weeks along and this week people are telling me that is "so far!" and that I should be excited. And have a name all picked out. Honey, I don't have anything ready. I have to get done with this semester of school before I can have this kid and I just started. We're 4 weeks into the 16 week semester, so I'm pretty sure that May is a long, long ways away.
This gestation hasn't been too bad for me. No morning sickness (I can say that now with confidence that I'm well into the second trimester) and no crazy craving for fast food and no vegetables ever. Still Christmas happened and now when I read how much weight I'm supposed to have gained. I just laugh and times the smaller amount by 2 and that's closer to where I'm at. My back has a sharp pain in it, but only when I'm sitting, standing or laying down and trying change positions. So that's fun. I'm trying to stay more fit and I'm still able to do a lot of my workouts, just taking out some jumps and high intensity here and there, so I feel pretty accomplished that I'll be able to get back in shape before this baby is 12 months old, but time will tell. I'm still sad that even now I shouldn't eat a Blue Bacon Cheeseburger, because if you can't do that when your preggo, then when can you my friends?
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