Today I got countless e-mails, phone calls, and Facebook messages from good willed friends and family informing me of the recent recall of the ever popular baby seat The Bumbo. When I first saw the word recall I was thinking what could possibly be the reason for a recall with this seat made entirely out of foam. Then I read the article. Back in 2007 they recalled about 1 million of these seats to add warning labels stating that it is not to be put on elevated surfaces. The first line of the article on USA today was this "that majority of the new incidents were dealing with children being left unattended on raised surfaces." No Kidding!!!! Why would you leave your child unattended on a counter, table, couch etc in or out of any child care product???
I remember the first time I saw the Bumbo. I was looking though a friend's Facebook pictures for their daughter's first birthday. She was sitting in a lilac version of the bumbo and I thought what a nifty little seat. A few years later the little boy I watched in Mississippi had a bumbo and a couple years after that we bought one for our Gracie. When I first used the bumbo is Mississippi I remember thinking umm...it wouldn't be all that hard for a baby to get out of this. I thought it was an oblivious observation, but according to the incident reports apparently not. There is nothing keeping your child in the seat other then a thicker piece of plastic between their legs. So why anyone would believe that it would be safe to walk away from their child in it is beyond me. One comment I read today stated that a women did not buy a bumbo because it did not have belt. She said that if it had restraint belt she was sure the accidents would less frequent. I highly doubt that. High chairs have restraint belts, so do baby swings, some jumperoos have belts as well. Would you leave your child on the kitchen table in their high chair?? Yea, I didn't think so. Not to mention that a belt would not prevent the child from tipping the seat over, but rather just cause the child to take the seat with them as they fell over.
When I commented on the local news channels Facebook post about this issue today I said that to me this recall makes about as much sense as recalling a car seat because a group of parents did not strap it into the car. A woman wrote to me saying that she didn't agree with me at all. That just yesterday her 6 month old son had "wiggled" out of his bumbo on the floor in the living room and I quote "....his leg had gotten stuck and I found him with his head on the floor. By the grace of God he was uninjured." My response was simple. "First, if you read the manual it states that once your child is able to sit up on their own the play tray should always be used while in the seat. I will admit it is unreasonable of the company to recommend a safety measure that is sold separately from the seat but at least they inform of you this in the manual. Secondly you said you "found him with his head on the floor". It also states in the manual that the seat 'should always be used under adult supervision'. It is not made to be a babysitter." Why this woman would argue that her son was almost injured because he was able to wiggle his way out of the seat and on to the floor was the companies fault is crazy to me. Had she been in the room with him she would have been able to either A. Keep him from falling out or B. Help him out of the seat!
This whole recall is ludicrous to me. If I use a product IMPROPERLY I would NOT expect the company to be responsible for any injury that incurred. Back to my car seat example, if I did not latch Grace's car seat into the car and she was injured in someway I am sure any judge would tell me that I was entitled to NOTHING. Why, because it is clearly stated in the manual that the seat must be latched into the car properly in order to work. I see this as being the same, and yes I dug though my garage today to find the bumbo box and manual to read it which is why I know what it says. I am sure that 90% of parents did exactly what we did when we got the seat. Pull it out of the box and that was it. Which is why the words "WARNING: Not to be used on elevated surfaces." were added to the Bumbo seat itself in 2007, but to me that is just COMMON SENSE. I think it is sad that we can get away with blaming a company for our own ignorance in today's world. What's next blaming hot coffee for burns?? Oh Wait.....
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Friday, August 10, 2012
OBEY YOUR HUSBAND!
HAHA...I bet that title got your attention or at least the attention of about 80% of my female friends. I am gonna leave you in suspense for a little bit before I tell you exactly where this blog post is going. I once attended a wedding where the words submissive and obey were in her vows. I remember sitting in the pew thinking WOW I could never agree to those terms. Even understanding the biblical reference of such a vow I would not feel comfortable saying them, and to be honest I don't think I could have married a man who would be okay with that either. Today while browsing my newest addiction Pinterest I came across this blog post called 25 ways to Communicate Respect to your Husband. I thought okay I am so checking this out. I got to the third pointer and my blood pressure had sky rocketed. NOT because I didn't understand where the writer was coming from. She was simply trying to portray the bibles "stance" of being a helpmate to your husband. Although some of her points were valid A LOT of them were misleading and to be honest degrading. So I am not only going to post the link to the blog so you can check it out, but I am also adding my ideas on the points that REALLY made my blood boil!
So here's the link:
http://lovinglifeathome.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/25-ways-to-communicate-respect/
and here's my views....
#2. Honor his wishes.
In this point she makes reference to having dinner ready when he gets home and have a clean house blah blah blah. She ends it by saying "Don't make him ask twice". I'm sorry say WHAT?? Listen having a sparkling clean house and dinner on the table may have been easy when it was just the two of us, but things are different now. I have an 8 month old and spending my time and attention with her is way more important to me then the dishes. If I don't get the dishes done until Grace is asleep then so be it! If I don't feel like cooking that day for whatever reason he better be okay with it. If things aren't up to his standards he can hire a maid or a nanny, but either way my priority is my child not clean tubs. Not to say having a clean house isn't important to me, because for my child's safety it is. That being said though it will get done when and how I see fit.
Disclaimer: In his defense Steve has NEVER once made a comment about the house not being clean enough or dinner being late to the table. Maybe because he knows it would be the last sentence he ever uttered.
#3. Give him your undivided attention.
Okay my issues with this falls along the same lines of my issue with #2. I understand the importance of being acknowledge when your talking. I for one HATE feeling like I am talking to a wall. However, giving someone 100% of your attention 100% of the time is just NOT possible. Now if he has something really important to say or really wants to talk I try hard to stop what I can and focus solely on the conversation at hand, but to be honest those types of chats are usually saved for pillow talk where both of us can fully concentrate on what we are discussing.
#7 Don't Nag.
I am just gonna say that I for one believe it is a wife's right to be able to nag her hubby every now and then. Plus if we didn't nag em sometimes what would really get done around the house!
#12 Kiss him goodbye.
This one I actually agree with 100%. I truly believe that making sure to saying Good Morning, Hello, Goodbye. and Good Night is VERY important to any marriage.
#15 Don't Complain
If you can't vent to your spouse who can you complain too? Getting the things that are stressing you out is good for you and your marriage. This goes both ways though I think both partners should be able to vent and complain from time to time. As long as it is not an everyday occurrence or about EVERY LITTLE THING I don't see a little complaining as an issue.
#18 Keep the house tidy.
Please refer to #2.
#20 Take his advice.
Chapter 2 of John Gray's book Men Are From Mars Women Are Form Venus is called Mr. Fix-It and The Home Improvement Committee. Basically to paraphrase the chapter it states that 1. A man tries to change a woman's feelings when she is upset by becoming Mr. Fix-It and offering solutions that invalidate her feelings and 2. A woman tries to change a man's behavior when he makes a mistake by becoming the home improvement committee and offering unsolicited advice or criticism. My point is that both partners in relationships sometimes give advice at bad times. Just because it is coming from your husband does not mean that you have to take it or that it is right. I believe you should considered his views and feelings because he could very well be right or at least have a valid point, but if you don't feel it is the right choice or whatever for you talk it over with him. Don't just blindly follow.
#24 Don't Argue
There are a couple things she says here that just irk me. First, "You are not always right and you do not always have to have the last word." Umm...okay I guess I agree with this, but there are times ( A LOT TIMES) where I am RIGHT and YES I do have to have the last word. I don't feel the need to be "submissive" to my husbands views and mindlessly obey when I don't agree with what he is saying or doing. I believe there are stories about drinking that kool-aid eh? Second, "Be the first the say 'I am sorry.'" Sometimes they need to be the first to say it! Third "Be willing to accept the blame". I sure will, but only when I am to blame. I think that when your wrong your wrong own it! I also hold the strong belief that arguing can be healthy for a marriage. If you just hold back something that is bugging you or don't get out what you want to say you end up letting it build and build and suddenly your resenting your spouse. I don't think resentment is good for any marriage.
#25 Follow his lead
UM....NO! Marriage is a PARTNERSHIP not a DICTATORSHIP! You should make decisions as a COUPLE. PERIOD!!!
I can see where some of her points are ways to show respect, but a lot of them are more geared to how I would want my children to respond or treat me, but not how I think a husband and wife should interact. I think her points are more for how to be meekly obedient rather then have a marriage based on mutual respect. If that works for her though or anyone else who agrees with her that's fine. I am just saying I could never be with a man who felt that I should not have my own mind and that I should just be subordinate to him.
So here's the link:
http://lovinglifeathome.wordpress.com/2012/08/06/25-ways-to-communicate-respect/
and here's my views....
#2. Honor his wishes.
In this point she makes reference to having dinner ready when he gets home and have a clean house blah blah blah. She ends it by saying "Don't make him ask twice". I'm sorry say WHAT?? Listen having a sparkling clean house and dinner on the table may have been easy when it was just the two of us, but things are different now. I have an 8 month old and spending my time and attention with her is way more important to me then the dishes. If I don't get the dishes done until Grace is asleep then so be it! If I don't feel like cooking that day for whatever reason he better be okay with it. If things aren't up to his standards he can hire a maid or a nanny, but either way my priority is my child not clean tubs. Not to say having a clean house isn't important to me, because for my child's safety it is. That being said though it will get done when and how I see fit.
Disclaimer: In his defense Steve has NEVER once made a comment about the house not being clean enough or dinner being late to the table. Maybe because he knows it would be the last sentence he ever uttered.
#3. Give him your undivided attention.
Okay my issues with this falls along the same lines of my issue with #2. I understand the importance of being acknowledge when your talking. I for one HATE feeling like I am talking to a wall. However, giving someone 100% of your attention 100% of the time is just NOT possible. Now if he has something really important to say or really wants to talk I try hard to stop what I can and focus solely on the conversation at hand, but to be honest those types of chats are usually saved for pillow talk where both of us can fully concentrate on what we are discussing.
#7 Don't Nag.
I am just gonna say that I for one believe it is a wife's right to be able to nag her hubby every now and then. Plus if we didn't nag em sometimes what would really get done around the house!
#12 Kiss him goodbye.
This one I actually agree with 100%. I truly believe that making sure to saying Good Morning, Hello, Goodbye. and Good Night is VERY important to any marriage.
#15 Don't Complain
If you can't vent to your spouse who can you complain too? Getting the things that are stressing you out is good for you and your marriage. This goes both ways though I think both partners should be able to vent and complain from time to time. As long as it is not an everyday occurrence or about EVERY LITTLE THING I don't see a little complaining as an issue.
#18 Keep the house tidy.
Please refer to #2.
#20 Take his advice.
Chapter 2 of John Gray's book Men Are From Mars Women Are Form Venus is called Mr. Fix-It and The Home Improvement Committee. Basically to paraphrase the chapter it states that 1. A man tries to change a woman's feelings when she is upset by becoming Mr. Fix-It and offering solutions that invalidate her feelings and 2. A woman tries to change a man's behavior when he makes a mistake by becoming the home improvement committee and offering unsolicited advice or criticism. My point is that both partners in relationships sometimes give advice at bad times. Just because it is coming from your husband does not mean that you have to take it or that it is right. I believe you should considered his views and feelings because he could very well be right or at least have a valid point, but if you don't feel it is the right choice or whatever for you talk it over with him. Don't just blindly follow.
#24 Don't Argue
There are a couple things she says here that just irk me. First, "You are not always right and you do not always have to have the last word." Umm...okay I guess I agree with this, but there are times ( A LOT TIMES) where I am RIGHT and YES I do have to have the last word. I don't feel the need to be "submissive" to my husbands views and mindlessly obey when I don't agree with what he is saying or doing. I believe there are stories about drinking that kool-aid eh? Second, "Be the first the say 'I am sorry.'" Sometimes they need to be the first to say it! Third "Be willing to accept the blame". I sure will, but only when I am to blame. I think that when your wrong your wrong own it! I also hold the strong belief that arguing can be healthy for a marriage. If you just hold back something that is bugging you or don't get out what you want to say you end up letting it build and build and suddenly your resenting your spouse. I don't think resentment is good for any marriage.
#25 Follow his lead
UM....NO! Marriage is a PARTNERSHIP not a DICTATORSHIP! You should make decisions as a COUPLE. PERIOD!!!
I can see where some of her points are ways to show respect, but a lot of them are more geared to how I would want my children to respond or treat me, but not how I think a husband and wife should interact. I think her points are more for how to be meekly obedient rather then have a marriage based on mutual respect. If that works for her though or anyone else who agrees with her that's fine. I am just saying I could never be with a man who felt that I should not have my own mind and that I should just be subordinate to him.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Beggar's can't be choosers.
From the time Steve graduated UPT to the his report no later then date was a total of 2 months and 13 days. Steve was home a grand total of 11 of those days. He left for SERE (survival school) the week after he pinned on his wings. Returned for a whopping 36 hours and left again only to return 4 days before we had be in Colorado. Which left me at home to deal with all the things that come with moving. Not to mention I was pregnant and to top it all off in true Air Force style none of his orders were correct so I had to deal with all that drama. I remember looking at houses to rent off base, but because we had no time to come see them in person I felt that renting off base was going to be near impossible. When we applied for base housing they told us that it would be a 6-12 month wait for a house. As I had already stated we just did not have the time to wait. I wanted to be in a house fairly soon after moving here and be able to set up as much as I could before Grace made her grand entrance. I remember crying one night thinking OMG we are going to end up in a crapy neighborhood that I am going to be too scare to stay at home alone in because we don't know anything about the springs or what is a good part/bad part of town. I just sat there in bed PRAYING to God we'd get a house on base. I said I don't care what house it is just let us get one on base. A week later Steve called to tell me that we had a house. All we had to do is sign a commitment to it and they would hold it till we got there. Umm...YES!! Now some people might be thinking wow that's brave, but trust me I have lived in some NASTY base housing in my life and I was sure that Peterson's was much better then any of them. So we signed the commitment and a little bit of stress was lifted.
When we got to Peterson and we saw our house I loved it. It's not something I would buy because I can basically reach my neighbors window from ours, but it's prefect for right now. We did the walk through and signed the official lease and BAM home sweet home. Oh our way back from the housing office I noticed a plane coming in for landing pretty close to the base. It creeped closer and closer to our street and then I noticed that it was landing basically in our backyard. When we got home I raced upstairs and sure enough I could throw a baseball and hit the runway. Ok I can deal with that I thought. It was really cool for a while, we got to see all kinds of planes landing and taking off because it's a shared runway with the Colorado Springs Airport. Steve of course loved it, and I will admit even I got a kick out of watching him do touch and goes on his first flight here from our back porch. After a couple weeks it got old FAST. Not so much during the day, but at night and I mean late at night when the windows start to shake about every 15 minutes because the other runaway is closed it gets REALLY OLD REALLY FAST! Tonight however has reached a WHOLE different kind of annoying.
Today I woke up about 2 am with some nasty something and spent most of the morning praying to the porcelain god. I am thinking it was something I had last night that I didn't finish because it tasted kinda off. I was able to keep down some toast this morning and plain pasta in the afternoon, but all day I still felt weak. To top it off Steve is on a TDY so it was just me and Grace and anyone who has had to watch a crawling infant when their ill knows today was not an easy day to get though. So tonight when Grace hit the sack at 8pm this mommy did not hesitate to do the same. I crawled into bed and just as I was about to fall asleep that all to familiar roar got louder and louder and then BAM Grace starts screaming! She's usually not bothered by the planes so I was thinking maybe she scared herself awake. So I went in laid her back down with her binky and left the room. She cried for a bit but drifted off in no time. Then 9:20 I hear her crying again and the fading noise of a jet. UGH!! So I let it go this time. After about 10 minutes of her screaming I try calming her down though the monitor but that does work so I go back in rock her a bit and she drifts back to sleep. Again at 10:30 a much bigger jet (probably a C-17 THANKS BUDDIES!) comes roaring though. Grace just loses it and so do I. I am exhausted I can barely keep my eyes open and all I want to do is sleep. So I bend quickly picking her up, change her diaper, and feed her a little snack. She's finally back asleep and as long as NO other jets come though we should be good for the rest of the night. I however am WIDE awake now even though my stomach is turning again and my head is back to pounding. FANTASTIC. So I am gonna go lay in bed and tell my subconscious "Yea sure Katie, ANY HOUSE!!" UGH! I guess beggar's really can't be choosers.
When we got to Peterson and we saw our house I loved it. It's not something I would buy because I can basically reach my neighbors window from ours, but it's prefect for right now. We did the walk through and signed the official lease and BAM home sweet home. Oh our way back from the housing office I noticed a plane coming in for landing pretty close to the base. It creeped closer and closer to our street and then I noticed that it was landing basically in our backyard. When we got home I raced upstairs and sure enough I could throw a baseball and hit the runway. Ok I can deal with that I thought. It was really cool for a while, we got to see all kinds of planes landing and taking off because it's a shared runway with the Colorado Springs Airport. Steve of course loved it, and I will admit even I got a kick out of watching him do touch and goes on his first flight here from our back porch. After a couple weeks it got old FAST. Not so much during the day, but at night and I mean late at night when the windows start to shake about every 15 minutes because the other runaway is closed it gets REALLY OLD REALLY FAST! Tonight however has reached a WHOLE different kind of annoying.
Today I woke up about 2 am with some nasty something and spent most of the morning praying to the porcelain god. I am thinking it was something I had last night that I didn't finish because it tasted kinda off. I was able to keep down some toast this morning and plain pasta in the afternoon, but all day I still felt weak. To top it off Steve is on a TDY so it was just me and Grace and anyone who has had to watch a crawling infant when their ill knows today was not an easy day to get though. So tonight when Grace hit the sack at 8pm this mommy did not hesitate to do the same. I crawled into bed and just as I was about to fall asleep that all to familiar roar got louder and louder and then BAM Grace starts screaming! She's usually not bothered by the planes so I was thinking maybe she scared herself awake. So I went in laid her back down with her binky and left the room. She cried for a bit but drifted off in no time. Then 9:20 I hear her crying again and the fading noise of a jet. UGH!! So I let it go this time. After about 10 minutes of her screaming I try calming her down though the monitor but that does work so I go back in rock her a bit and she drifts back to sleep. Again at 10:30 a much bigger jet (probably a C-17 THANKS BUDDIES!) comes roaring though. Grace just loses it and so do I. I am exhausted I can barely keep my eyes open and all I want to do is sleep. So I bend quickly picking her up, change her diaper, and feed her a little snack. She's finally back asleep and as long as NO other jets come though we should be good for the rest of the night. I however am WIDE awake now even though my stomach is turning again and my head is back to pounding. FANTASTIC. So I am gonna go lay in bed and tell my subconscious "Yea sure Katie, ANY HOUSE!!" UGH! I guess beggar's really can't be choosers.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Seeing Eye to Eye
Unless you live under a rock you know what the big news story is now a days. I will be the first to admit that I can NOT wait till CHICKEN is not a common word on my newsfeed. It has been a LONG time since I posted something political on my Facebook. Not because I mind a healthy debate trust me. I will be the first to tell you how I feel about something, but because some people cannot accept that others think differently about certain issues. The past couple of days I have had quite a few "debates"/ talks with many different people about this topic. Some have been very eye opening and others have been wasted breath. I don't mind someone having a different opinion then I do. I always knowledge that it is their right to feel however they do. I never knock someone for their beliefs either. I just ask for the same respect in return. When people start talking about something they feel passionately about I think they forget that we are all free thinking humans. I for one am a very sensitive person and I'll be the first to admit that I get my feelings hurt easily. I don't like being told that because I see something different then you do my thoughts are unproductive. In the past week I have been called a Nazi and been compared to members of the Westboro Church. Why? Because I voiced an opinion different then the person I was talking too. I have had my faith and my marriage verbally attacked and I have had my husband called a murder because he's in the service. Do you want to know the funny thing about it? THe people who said these things where people who I share a common view with. The view that same sex marriage should be legalized. I don't think anyone should have that right withheld from them. Especially not because of my religion. Freedom of religion is VERY important to me. I have the ability to practice my faith where and however I please. It should go both ways. I have the freedom to believe what I want, but they should also have the freedom to disagree with me. They should also not be held to the teachings or beliefs of my faith. That is how FREEDOM works! These people were blind to the fact that they and I agreed on the topic they were so passionately pushing and they got down right hurtful about it. They were so caught up in their feelings on it that they didn't see I wasn't saying I was against their cause just that I did not see what was happening the same way they did. I was looking at if differently. I like to play devils advocate for those who can not. I have family who do not share the same views as I do, but I will still defend their right to feel the way they do. When people make generalizations about the other side of an argument I don't think they realize how offensive they can be. Hate is a strong word and although I am sure some people feel that way, but not everyone who stands against same sex marriage hates gays. In fact I am sure a large majority of them do not. So to say that if you don't think two people should have a legal marriage you must hate them is WRONG! They are allowed to have an opinion. My biggest issue with recent things is that people feel that they can have an opinion but when someone else's view goes against that opinion it should not be allowed. Freedom of Speech goes both ways. I can voice a view you don't like and you certainly are allowed to voice that you do not agree with me, but please be an adult about it. I don't get nasty when someone disagrees with me. I may try to make them see my point, but I definitely won't attack them personally or make them feel like their thoughts are "unproductive". You want to talk about being intolerant, but that also goes both ways. I don't think being hurtful about it is going to change anyone's mind. It certainly doesn't help your cause. Most people are so set in their beliefs your not going to change them by talking to them. Everyone believes they are right. It just ends up going in circles until it gets to the point where your left feeling like even the closest of friends looks at you differently. If I have learned anything this week it is this that being a winner is sometimes knowing when enough is enough and walking away. Agree to disagree. Don't let politics get between you and friend it's not worth it. Show up where it counts at the polls!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)