I'm not a weblogger. I've never been a weblogger, and I'll probably never have a weblog. I'd feel too much pressure to keep it up to date, and hell - I can hardly do that with this journal! I am married to a weblogger, and have lots of friends who blog. I occasionally read weblogs, and sometimes find things in them that are interesting to "click through" to.
All that said, I recently read a message thread on a board frequented by (mostly, as I understand it) bloggers. My friend Lyn mentioned the thread to me, and I found the topic interesting. Basically, the city council of Moscow, Idaho (an hour from here; we go there all the time) issued a ban on bare-breasted women in public. They did so in response to some college girls (Moscow is home of U of Idaho) who were conducting topless carwashes to raise money. I had heard about the ordinance, and was interested to see what other people thought of it. I went and read the thread.
There is a wide variety of viewpoints expressed there, and I was interested to see the topic of breastfeeding come up. You see, this ordinance will directly affect me, since I have frequently nursed Adam in public in Moscow, which requires (depending on your definition of "bare") baring my breast in public. Please, don't bother with suggesting I find a bathroom or a blanket; that's an insult to me, and to my babies. With Kayla's birth just around the corner, this was a very real and present issue for me. I decided to post a reply to several points made by several people, and planned to quote and reply to one person in particular. I tried to sign up for an account, but apparently, memberships are temporarily closed because of too much server traffic. Aside: Doesn't allowing people to view a site, even if they can't post, still contribute to the server's traffic load? I happened to be in chat with Lyn at the time, so I told her something to the effect of, "Oh, well, it woulda been nice to post, but the memberships are closed." She suggested I send her my comments, and she would post them for me. I did.
Well! Did THAT cause a stink! Apparently, this message board has some kind of rule about posting by proxy (I looked all over the site, and could find no list of rules about posting, by the way), so Lyn got lit into. Apparently, I have been painted as some kind of nefarious, insidious instigator. OK, those weren't the words used. The actual terminology used included "agressive", "an angry participant", "indignant, vindictive", "attack[ing]", "inappropriate", and "argument[ative]". Before I go on, maybe you should go read my post (if you haven't already). I was completely floored by the reaction. First of all, I had no idea posting by proxy was frowned on, and if I had, I wouldn't have sent my comments to Lyn for posting. I also don't think she was aware of such a policy. Second, I did not expect my comments to be taken the way they were (in fairness and gratitude, there were a lot of people who were supportive of what I had to say and not so concerned with how it got said). I certainly feel very strongly about the topic - I think breastfeeding babies is the absolute best start you can give them, period. I think anything that impedes that process, intended or unintended, is bad and should be immediately rooted out (no pun intended). I think the American society has a lot of hang-ups about the female body in general and the breasts in particular, but that it is the responsibility of our lawmakers to do what is (as I said in my post) right, not what is popular or inoffensive.
I think some of my (I still believe justified) anger and contempt for the Moscow city council was misconstrued as being directed at members of the message board. In truth, I think some of what was posted there - in particular by the person whose messages I quoted in my post - were harsh, unreasoned, and thoughtless reactionary bullshit. Some of the rest of it (interestingly enough, including the person who eventually called Lyn out on the proxy-posting) I consider to be bordering on sexual aggression at worst, and immaturity at best. (To fill in the blanks here, Beth (who, as luck would have it, is also a friend of mine) posted a picture of herself nursing her daughter Elena, to show that breastfeeding wasn't always, or even usually, a big-boob-in-your-face kinda thing. The guy who got so indignant about the proxy-posting responded, "beth, I'm starting to see what you're getting at, but I'm not fully persuaded. More evidence, please." Slimy. Maybe if he refrained from this kind of bullshit non-posting, it might even help that overloaded server!)
I went back and read my post, trying to find out how it could have been perceived as so incendiary. I suppose the end of it was what caused so much trouble (the morality thing), but I honestly don't see how people could get their panties in such a twist over that. I mean, who does want to be saddled with someone else's morality? Anyone else's morality?
Anyway, the conclusion I came to is this: MetaFilter is not the place for me. If so many of the people there (some of whom snuck in after registrations were closed, judging by their membership numbers and things they said in other posts to that effect) are going to spend their time and energy trying to keep discussion out rather than having an actual, serious discussion about whatever the proposed topic is, then I don't have time for that. I have (or will soon, please GOD let my water break tonight!) two children to take care of and a business to run. I appreciate frank, honest discussion about serious issues, but not exclusionist clubs that are more concerned with who's in and who's out than with what people have to say.
I don't make a very good sick person. I'm grouchy and irritable, I have an even harder time sleeping, I have no appetite and I just want to stare at the television. Adam got sick first, and he's not much better at being sick than I am. Mike got a touch of it, but seems to have fought it off better than I. So Adam and I (at least, I presume he has the same symptoms) have had sore throats, headaches, runny noses, and Adam's had a fever. I'm low on sleep and crabby. Oh, and last night's trip to the hospital didn't help any.
Mike's parents got here Tuesday. They have been a godsend. They've been doing all of the cooking and dishes, so Mike has (I think) had more time to work. Mike's dad has done the chores in the morning, and helped with them in the evening. Mike's mom and I have spent some time sewing, when I didn't feel like shit, and she's already made two pies and a batch of bread pudding. The Gunderloys believe in dessert. :)
I woke up with a raging headache this morning, probably because I couldn't fall asleep until 3AM. Adam took a very late nap, and woke up just as I was contemplating going to bed (1:30AM). I got him some dinner, then took him to bed, but it seemed to take ages for him to decide to drop off to sleep. It wasn't until 2PM this afternoon that I was feeling at all sociable, and even now, I'm not exactly June Cleaver. Sleep deprivation compounded by pregnancy hormones does weird things to my outlook on life.
One good thing did happen: I made new curtains for the bathroom! See, I've been sewing again the last couple of days - adding borders to my grandmother's quilt (just need to get it quilted and bound now, and the binding's even already made!) and cutting/piecing backing, batting, and binding for another quilt (it's ready to be basted; I'm pondering how and where). Adam saw some crayon fabric I was playing with and he pronounced it "pretty-pretty". He kept coming back to see it and point out colors, so I decided to take some of the extra and make something for him. I didn't want to start another quilt, so instead I just made curtains for the bathroom. It's really easy with my serger (thanks Mom and Dad!!), and I have been meaning to replace those ugly doily-looking curtains for awhile now, anyway. Every time I make curtains, I learn a new lesson. Today's lesson was: don't skimp on the sleeve (where you slide in the curtain rod); baste it, make sure the rod will slide in, THEN sew the seam.
Actually I've been pretty productive the last few days. I can't do much around the house, so I've been knocking out little bits of computer work here and there: some HTML markup stuff, and lots of things for QuiltIndex. I've told most of my readers there that I'm going to be sort of taking a break there, and most have been very understanding. If a girl can't take time off to have a baby, when CAN she take time off?
Speaking of computer stuff, I forgot to mention I had a hard drive start to fail last week. This meant some of my files were corrupted, and I lost a bit of email. Most of it was salvageable, however, and I really only lost one day getting the new mirrored drives and software installed. I also managed to make my "line of demarcation" between personal computer and work computer a little more noticeable, so I hope that will make things more efficient for me. All in all, it wasn't too painful.
Another chore run to town yesterday. Started off at the grange. Adam fell asleep on the way there, so I stayed in the truck with him while he slept. Went to the bank next, and Mike stayed with him while I went inside to make a deposit and do a wire transfer. The first went off without a hitch, but the second was another story. Only one of the bank's employees was authorized to do wire transfers, and she was tied up with a mother and daughter opening (a?) checking account(s?). I waited as long as I could, but finally left to make my OB appointment.
After that, we headed back down the hill to Colfax's "downtown". There was a train crossing, so we went to Pullman instead. Tried to drop off a box at the UPS, but were told it was mispackaged. Hrmpf. Mike suggested we go to Shopko to get Adam a new pair of shoes, since he's about outgrown his old ones. Did that, filled up the gas, then cursed Pullman construction on our way back to Colfax. We ended up going through Albion because we were misdirected through the Pullman construction. It was a scenic drive, but by that time of day (our OB appointment was at 2:15PM) it was *hot*. Got back to Colfax and decided to sit down and have lunch in the deli. Did the shopping (including lots of pregnant-person-friendly snacks) then dragged our tired asses home.
I did find that someone FINALLY had some sensible things to say to a pregnant woman when commenting on her pregnancy. You see, it's a well-known fact that people say assinine things to pregnant women on a frequent basis. In my case, I seem to be getting way more than my share of, "Are you having twins?" Well, yesterday I was waiting for Mike and Adam at the end of the refrigerated meat-and-cheese aisle. I was obviously uncomfortable, as I kept trying to find something sturdy enough to lean against and wasn't having much luck. This woman said to me, "I bet you like this aisle! I'm freezing!" I just grinned; it really *did* feel good, especially considering the heat. Then as Mike was checking out, I sat on the bench while Adam played on the little car. The same woman saw me on her way out, and asked, "When are you due?" I said, "Two and a half weeks," then braced myself for her response. She just said, "Oh, so it could be any day now!" I thought, "YES!! THAT'S what you say to someone this pregnant." I said that yes, it could, and she said she's pray for me and the baby to be healthy, then went on her way. It felt SO NICE to be treated that way for a change.
My friends Cresta and Denise came over with their kids on Friday, as kind of a "last hurrah". Denise and her family are moving to Terre Haute, Indiana, so this was our last chance for a playdate. It was fun, if tiring, and Denise brought lunch for everybody. The kids seemed to enjoy playing with each other, even if there was a lot of parent-directed sharing and taking-of-turns. I assume at some point I'll be able to back off from some of that, but since Adam was the youngest (besides Cresta's 4-month-old) I still felt pretty needed.
Yesterday was largely a rest day. I think I should be taking more of these as the delivery gets closer, since it's not like I'll be able to tell The Uterus, "No, wait, wait... give me two more days to save up energy, then GO!" I've also been feeling lately like all signs point toward an early delivery of this baby, so resting is the order of the month. I ended up with two baths and a nap-and-a- half yesterday, for example.
Happy Fourth of July! We just got back from the fireworks display in Endicott (one of our family traditions), and it was pretty fun. This year our friend Liz went along with us. I talked to her last night, and she decided kind of last night that it might be fun to come down from Cheney to Endicott for the "Old Fashioned Fourth of July" celebration in Endicott. We went into town at about 3:30, and it was basically just DEAD. We did drop a little money at the BETA Flea Market (I got some baby clothes for Kayla and some books and a stuffie for Adam) and bought some brownies, but there really was nothing to occupy our time. Instead of coming home, we went into Pullman and, ultimately, Moscow. We had dinner at Applebee's (fish n' chips for her, chicken quesadilla for me), looked into Michael's for raffia, and then came home. Even driving around two dead college towns was more fun than Endicott. Oh, yeah, and we stopped in Pullman so Aunt Liz could buy some sparklers for Adam.
We got home and I found out Adam had been clingy all day, and had kept asking about me. That made me feel just a tad bit guilty. He perked right up after I got home and started passing out toys, though, and he got a big kick out of Aunt Liz's sparklers ("Sparkler pretty!").
Yesterday was chore day. We did doctor visit, then I hung out at the grocery's deli while Mike/Adam did bank, grange, and grocery shopping. I just wasn't really feeling up to any walking, so it seemed to make the most sense.
The Mall Crawl has come to an end, thank God. I've finished giving away prizes and posting winner's names, so now I'd just as soon take a break from QI work and just be pregnant. Hopefully I'll get to do that some. :)