New AAP Carseat Recommendations

So on Monday the AAP released new recommendations for how to use your kids’ car seats. My gut reaction is that they’re a little over the top, especially the booster seat recommendations. I have a 12 year old sister-in-law and she is more young woman than child at this point, which as an aside scares the shit out of me. According to the new recommendations, she could still be riding in a booster seat. I can’t say for sure because I don’t know if she’s 4′-9″ yet. As someone who remembers that age very well, I can promise you there is no parallel universe or beyond in which anyone is convincing an angsty pre-teen to ride in a booster seat. Had my parents pulled that crap, I would have walked to school. Or ridden the bus. Yeah, I would have ridden one of those yellow school busses that don’t even have seatbelts. Actually I did ride one of those busses because simply riding in the car with my parents was unbearably embarrassing at that age. I can tell you this, I wouldn’t have been caught dead in a booster seat at 12 years old.

However, the recommendations are based on scientific research and as such I will be following them as a parent, pre-teen angst be damned. I am firmly entrenched in the better-safe-than-sorry camp of parenting. Luckily I have almost a decade to figure out my plan of attack for the booster seat. Perhaps they will make them cool by the time my sweet little angels are ready to make my life a living hell.

On the other hand, we are balls deep in convertible carseats. Much as I have just whined about these new recommendations, Dagny is still rear-facing at 20 months because we’re overachievers over here in The Gay Family. I plan to keep her rear facing until she refuses to ride that way because: 1) I can and 2) I would rather her break her legs than her head, neck, or spine. It’s just that simple. Head, neck, and spine injuries scare me a lot more than a leg injury. In the event of the unthinkable, I want her personality intact, even if her legs are not. Legs heal, brains don’t. I could go on and on. The problem here is this little blurb from the AAP, “or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat.” I take that to mean I could turn her around at 2 years old but if I wanted to be conservative she could sit rear-facing until she outgrows the seat limits, which by the way are 40 lbs and 4′-1″ tall or 16.75″ seated height. Dagny barely weighs 20 lbs right now. She is not outgrowing that thing for a looooooong time. I’m going to have to measure her seated height, but I’ll take a wild guess and say she won’t outgrow the rear-facing seated height limit any time soon either because it’s the same as the front-facing seat height limit for her car seat, which is designed for kids who weigh up to 70lbs.

It’s just really hard to swallow these recommendations when this is what my daughter looks like in her car seat:

Dagny in her carseat at 20 months old.

Granted, she has never once complained to me that she’s uncomfortable. She frequently falls asleep in her car seat so she’s definitely not in pain or anything. Sometimes I cross her legs in front of her, but she always puts them up the back of the seat like this. So I guess I can’t really justify to myself turning her around before she’s 2 anyway. But it’s going to be very hard to resist that urge once she does hit that golden age. Especially if she asks me to. For now, I don’t think she even realizes there’s an alternative. Unfortunately, Bode will know when his turn comes around.

9 Weeks Later

I think this is going to be the last Shrinky Dink post for a little while. There isn’t much that’s changing from week to week so I’m going to try letting a month go by before I post more pictures. I’ll still be taking them because I hope to someday string them together in a video, but I don’t plan to make weekly posts any more. So, next you hear from me about this project will be in about 4 weeks. Since there really isn’t anything new except my hair, I’m just posting 1 picture this week.

My Awesome Snowboard Wedding – 4 Years Ago Today

So this post is actually a product of my baiting…er, boasting on Twitter in response to BurghBaby’s tweet a few days ago about this insane Alice in Wonderland wedding. Check that out and you will lose your mind over how cool it is. Anyway…BurghBaby joked that all other weddings were lame by comparison and I couldn’t resist chirping back that my snowboard wedding was so not lame and I have the pictures and video to prove it. Unspoken in my tweet: pleeeeeeeeeease ask to see them!!!!!!!!! I seriously love to brag about our wedding because it really was the best day ever and it really was super cool, even if we had pretty much no budget. And by no budget I mean no money. Lucky me, she challenged me to post pictures…and conveniently my anniversary is today (er, yesterday by the time I uploaded the post) which makes it even more appropriate at the moment.

I wanted this to be a long post with more details about what we did but I’m going to try and keep it succinct and post a bunch of pictures instead.

We chose Steamboat because they were the most supportive, accomodating, and helpful when I called them and explained what we wanted to do. We used a clearing overlooking the Yampa Valley where a Sunday worship is normally held. The resort is on public land so we were told we could pretty much do whatever we wanted. I’ll let the pictures tell the story.

My brother Dan ushered people in the right direction at the bottom of the gondola.

Friends and family set up the site in the hour or so before the ceremony.

Wedding Guest Parking

The "Aisle"

I want you to take note that our officiant, Judge Garrecht is wearing ski boots. One word. AWESOME.

These are the men who "gave me away." My brother Matt, my brother Dan and my dad.

Reception in the lodge.

Best Man Speech by THE David Cope.

We asked our guests to draw portraits of us instead of sign a guest book.

Wedding Party

Bride & Groom

Getting ready for our "celebratory run."

My handsome husband

And they lived happily ever after…

Other Media:

Video of James Proposing

If somehow you landed on this site because you want to plan a similar wedding, feel free to email me at carlykablooey@gmail.com with any questions. I had a hard time finding any information when I was doing my wedding planning but I’d love to share my “lessons learned” anyone who wants to do something like it or answer any questions anyone has. We obviously had a small budget but we looked at all kinds of stuff. I have lots of ideas that we decided not to spend money on, so let me know. I also tried to get sponsorship with several companies, so I can tell you about that and share my ideas about that too.

8 Weeks Later

Another week has passed and I think I’ve hit a plateau. What I mean is that I think any postpartum recovery has probably occured and that to further shrink myself I need to do something extra.

I’m done with the compression belt. I don’t know why but it is only supposed to be effective if used during the first 8 weeks postpartum. I started my first full week of yoga last week and I paid for a month of unlimited classes. I plan to take 3 classes per week but I might have to cut back this week because I am sick with some kind of virus, again. Ugh, I hate being sick. At first I thought maybe my body was flushing out toxins as a result of jumping back into yoga so intensely. That could have been the case, but however it started it has turned into a lovely combination of sinus congestion, fluid in the ears, and hacking cough. I did go in and get some antibiotics today after I woke up with a lot of pain in my upper teeth.

So, starting NEXT week, I should be back to 3 classes a week. Other than that, I’m still not really doing anything else to lose weight or change my body. I do notice that my calorie and fat intake is probably not ideal, but I’m not doing much to constrain my consumption and God-willing, I won’t have to do that to achieve a size I feel more comfortable at.

Here are my 8 week pictures. I’m putting some similar pictures back-to-back, one where I’m sucking in my stomach and one where I’m just letting it hang out completely. All in all, I feel good about where I’m at. And I feel really good about getting back to yoga. Nothing is more effective for me in terms of practicing mindfulness. The effects of practicing mindfulness are so far-reaching in my life that I can no longer imagine myself not practicing. OK, stepping off soapbox. For now.

OK, this one is me NOT sucking in.

In this one I am sucking in as hard as I can while still smiling. It makes a HUGE difference, as you can see.

What is a Shrinky Dink post without a picture of my withered midriff?

So my sister-in-law says that she used Stri-Vectin and it actually helped with the depth of her stretch marks. I plan to try some kind of cream like that and see if it works for me. I figure what the heck, right? I have a coupon for some Mederma stretch mark cream. I’ll give it a shot and you guys can draw your own conclusions from the photographic evidence.

And the front view! If I leave my hands resting on my legs, they appear slimmer. Trying not to do that anymore. In case you're wondering...I'm not resting my right hand, but my left hand got lazy in this one.

I’m getting my hair cut between now and next “photo shoot” and I can’t freakin’ wait!!! I’m also growing out my eyebrows if you couldn’t tell, and toying with the idea of getting a…wait for it…professional brow shaping. Woooooo! Very exciting. I’ve got a whole pampering plan. I might even buy myself a pedicure. I figure I deserve it, considering I’ll be breastfeeding for another 9 months or so. Ugh.

OK then, see you in about a week!

7 Random Things About Me

Hey-o people of the world wide web. I guess there’s a little…I want to call it a bloggy “fwd” because it’s like one of those guilt trip emails we’ve all seen where people tell you they love you and then try to obligate you to forward the same email to everyone you know and love as well…going around. Well, my good friend Chelsy got it and gave me a “blog award.” Even though, I don’t particularly care for the “fwd” aspect of it, I am really flattered that she though of me out of all the blogs she reads…which is a lot judging by her blogroll! And I know she really does like me and it’s not just out of obligation that she chose to name me, which means a lot to me because I respect and admire her as a person.

So because I don’t want to just ignore the thoughtfulness of her gesture, but I also don’t really want to follow all of the “rules,” I’m doing a little 7 Random Things About Me post. I will also share a few blogs that get me through the middle-of-the-night feedings, but I don’t plan to contact any of them about it.

So, without further ado…Seven Random Things About Me:

1. The biggest thing I want people to know about me is that my outer appearance is really inconsistent with what I admire in appearances. I love people with style! I wish I was more stylish myself, but I think it comes down to the fact that I am just too cheap and lazy to maintain any particular “look.” However, I have been thinking a lot about low-maintenance ways to achieve a more polished look. Call it a pseudo-resolution. So to summarize; I’m cooler than I look. I swear! And if I have any success with my low-maintenance plan…I’ll blog about it!

2. This is on my “About” page but I want to elaborate. I love pop music. I love a tune I can bob my head to. I love songs about the animal magnetism that permeates a good DJ’s dance floor. I love songs about one-night stands and club flings because I love the wild abandon of what I will call the party life. HOWEVER. I also love in a deeper and more loyal fashion one band that rises above all others. That band is TOOL. There is no greater music than TOOL for me. Much the same way that Dooce recently described Radiohead, TOOL has been the soundtrack for almost all of the defining moments in my life. The way I’ve “grown up” has evolved very similarly to the trajectory of their albums. I’ve gone from the abject worship of a teenager to a loyal and critical fan. I loosely follow the side projects of the band members. It takes a lot for me to miss a live show. So, while I will shake my moneymaker to the latest mainstream dance track, the only artist I’ll give it up for is TOOL.

3.

Yes, this is my natural hair color.

Although for a while THIS was a lot of fun!

4. People talk about what they are “really” passionate about and what they would do if they didn’t have to work, you know. Well, I don’t have that. I mean, I don’t know what I would really love to do above all else. But I have discovered some hints at that elusive question, “What should I with my life?” What’s left of it anyway. Some dreams I have that just won’t die are:

To generate a passive income (oh, if only!) and then travel the world with James and the kids and whatever willing grandparents we can afford to bring along.

To chase winter around the globe with my snowboard and James…and the kiddos of course. Related: To take some lessons in riding the pipe, hitting jumps, hitting bumps and riding in general. And thereby get over my fears of getting hurt.

To own vacation homes around the world. And then to actually spend time at all of them.

5. James and I have been dating since October of 1997. We also dated other people for the first 8 months of 2001. We lived the “party life” for a while in 2005 & 2006. We got married in March 2007. Where did the last 4 years go?

March 11, 2007

6. I am afraid of dying. Like, really afraid. Like, I can’t even think about it too hard or I start to freak out, afraid. But even more than that…I am afraid of losing my children and what it would do to me.

7. I don’t watch TV if I can help it. Not because I don’t like it per se, but because I have this weird problem where I lose awareness of my surroundings when I get immersed in a TV program. Thank goodness we didn’t have iPhones back when…because James has caught me smiling, nodding, and moving my lips while watching the TV in a zombie-like state. Then again, if I had video maybe you would believe me. When I’m in full zombie-mode, a person could come up right next to me, say my name and talk to me, talk about me, and I wouldn’t even hear them. I’ll know they’re making noise but it won’t compute. It’s almost like I have an out of body experience. So we don’t have TV service at our house. Just DVDs. Unfortunately for me, we can stream YouTube to our television, which is just like TV. We regularly watch several daily vloggers, but I don’t want to spill who they all are just yet. I’ve got a blog post that I’ve been thinking about on that.

So, there you go. Now you know seven more things about me…some of you already knew a lot of that…and if you did…there’s not much you don’t know about me. Susan, I’m looking at you

Now…here are a few blogs I enjoy reading:

The Burgh Baby

Stop Drop & Blog along with The Chronicles of Munchkin Land

Dooce

My Very Last Nerve

KDiddy.org

Although, I love those blogs…the ones I usually click first in my reader are the people I currently have a stronger personal connection to:

MamaHoney

Memories of the Heart

From One Swamp to Another

…though I am trying to make friends here in Pittsburgh as well. Probably would help to get out of the house.

Cowardly, Lazy or Just Getting Old?

Mouth Wide Shut

Here’s the deal. I have a lot of stuff floating in my head, mostly as responses to some blog posts I read recently that have made me examine my shortcomings a little more than I usually do. I promised myself that I wouldn’t self-censor on this blog but guess what? I totally do. Sometimes it’s just not worth the damage it would do to shoot off my mouth about all the annoying things people do. But these topics are on a whole new level of touchy and it’s really hard to publicly examine your shortcomings when they could be so grossly misunderstood. I’m trying to work up the courage to tackle a post on ageism (excuse the title of this post) and one on racism…maybe both in the same post, although my introspections are very different for each.

I can’t even tweet or post comments to blogs without second-guessing who I might be offending. It’s absolutely crazy that I can write posts like To Snip or Not To Snip and post half-naked pictures of my postnatal belly, but my fingers literally tremble before I hit send on certain tweets and comments. More often than not, I just delete them instead of hitting send.

I didn’t always feel like this. In fact, 10 years ago I was incredibly righteous and outspoken. Now, I’m timid and very choosy about most of what I write in a public forum. Part of it is that I am scared I might inadvertently alienate people that I care about. Because you never know what “skeletons” a person may have in their closet. In fact, I’m sure it would shock many of you to learn about some of my skeletons. Another part of me doesn’t want to have to keep track of all the political correctness that seems necessary these days. Many times I think of Dagny and how people might think less of her because of things I say and do. And yet another part of me wonders if I’ve finally just lived long enough to inflate my mother’s warnings about never putting things in writing because they will come back to haunt you. I mean to a degree she is right and it has saved my butt many times. But it’s so easy to let it hold me back and keep me from expressing my flawed, but valuable (I think) self. It’s that fine line that I tiptoe along with everything I do in social media.

I want to get over it. I want to have the confidence to take those leaps of faith that might connect me with other people and educate me where I am ignorant. Unfortunately even with the best of intentions, some topics are just too charged to deal with in any manner but the most scripted exchanges. I learned that the hard way in a couple of online classes I took in college. There’s always going to be someone who just doesn’t get it. And as much as I would like to connect and learn…I am afraid of the awful things people say when they get fired up. But not enough to give up on blogging altogether.

So this is your cue to pump me up and give me a little pep talk. Maybe then I can find enough courage to write about what’s really on my mind.

Dagny