Wednesday, March 03, 2004
Pulling Switches
Jonah's having some problems keeping dry at night. We tried for a week of going cold turkey, but no luck. Up once in the middle of the night to change pajamas and the bedding. And then again in the morning. So, last night I thought we would return to pull ups for a week, so everyone could catch up on sleep.
As I ripped open a package of size 4 pull ups, I realized that I mistakenly bought the girls variety. It was candy cane pink and had three Disney princesses dancing over the crotch. Cinderella, Sleepy Beauty, and Belle as the protectors of a dry night of sleep.
Uh-oh. I knew this was going to be a problem, but I had just paid $15 bucks for them and had no others, so I tried slipping it past him. "Here, Jo. Here's a pull-up," I said while picking up a toy off the floor. "Nooooo way," he recoiled with horror and revulsion. "Those are not cool, mom. Those are for girls."
He absolutely refused to wear them, although he did offer to take them into school to show his friend, Melanie. "She's a girl." Forcing him to wear the girlie pants seemed like a bad idea. It's stuff like this that ends up in a psychiatrist's office years from now. So, we had another poor night of sleep.
This "cool" stuff is starting to pop up a lot around here. Sneakers are cool, but his black PayLess shoes are not. Skateboards, motorcycles, and anything sure to put him in a lifeless coma are cool. You know, the typical stuff.
Every once and a while, I find myself watching my kids and marveling at how evolutionarily perfect they are. Blending in with one's peers is an important trait that promotes the success of a species. (OK, I watch WAY too much Discovery channel.)
I'm also amused at how suddenly he became aware of his peers. Two months ago, I could have conned him into wearing the Sleeping Beauty pull ups. Today, no way. It's like some cool switch got pulled in his brain. I wish the potty skill switch was pulled instead, but I'm not so lucky.
Read This
In this week's New Yorker, Elizabeth Kolbert reviews two new books on modern motherhood: Maternal Desire: On Children, Love, and The Inner Life by Daphne de Marneff and The Mommy Myth : The Idealization of Motherhood and How it Has Undermined Women by Douglas and Meredith.
De Marneff is concerned about a dominant ideology that forces women to sublimate their urges to be with their children, while Douglas and Meredith feel that the dominant culture idealizes motherhood and slights women who wish to have a career. Kolbert writes, "Although, logically, it is impossible for both “Maternal Desire” and “The Mommy Myth” to be right about what constitutes the prevailing ideology, each, I suspect, speaks to something real about the way that many mothers feel these days, which is that they are failing to measure up, personally or professionally".
Watch This
Steve came home with Oreos and beer to enhance our viewing pleasure for tonight's episode of Angel. Did anyone catch the story that Wesley read to Fred, before she turned into a blue haired demon last week? Hint... Sara Crewe. It was one of my favorite books as a kid, A Little Princess. That's why Angel is such quality TV.
Jonah's having some problems keeping dry at night. We tried for a week of going cold turkey, but no luck. Up once in the middle of the night to change pajamas and the bedding. And then again in the morning. So, last night I thought we would return to pull ups for a week, so everyone could catch up on sleep.
As I ripped open a package of size 4 pull ups, I realized that I mistakenly bought the girls variety. It was candy cane pink and had three Disney princesses dancing over the crotch. Cinderella, Sleepy Beauty, and Belle as the protectors of a dry night of sleep.
Uh-oh. I knew this was going to be a problem, but I had just paid $15 bucks for them and had no others, so I tried slipping it past him. "Here, Jo. Here's a pull-up," I said while picking up a toy off the floor. "Nooooo way," he recoiled with horror and revulsion. "Those are not cool, mom. Those are for girls."
He absolutely refused to wear them, although he did offer to take them into school to show his friend, Melanie. "She's a girl." Forcing him to wear the girlie pants seemed like a bad idea. It's stuff like this that ends up in a psychiatrist's office years from now. So, we had another poor night of sleep.
This "cool" stuff is starting to pop up a lot around here. Sneakers are cool, but his black PayLess shoes are not. Skateboards, motorcycles, and anything sure to put him in a lifeless coma are cool. You know, the typical stuff.
Every once and a while, I find myself watching my kids and marveling at how evolutionarily perfect they are. Blending in with one's peers is an important trait that promotes the success of a species. (OK, I watch WAY too much Discovery channel.)
I'm also amused at how suddenly he became aware of his peers. Two months ago, I could have conned him into wearing the Sleeping Beauty pull ups. Today, no way. It's like some cool switch got pulled in his brain. I wish the potty skill switch was pulled instead, but I'm not so lucky.
Read This
In this week's New Yorker, Elizabeth Kolbert reviews two new books on modern motherhood: Maternal Desire: On Children, Love, and The Inner Life by Daphne de Marneff and The Mommy Myth : The Idealization of Motherhood and How it Has Undermined Women by Douglas and Meredith.
De Marneff is concerned about a dominant ideology that forces women to sublimate their urges to be with their children, while Douglas and Meredith feel that the dominant culture idealizes motherhood and slights women who wish to have a career. Kolbert writes, "Although, logically, it is impossible for both “Maternal Desire” and “The Mommy Myth” to be right about what constitutes the prevailing ideology, each, I suspect, speaks to something real about the way that many mothers feel these days, which is that they are failing to measure up, personally or professionally".
Watch This
Steve came home with Oreos and beer to enhance our viewing pleasure for tonight's episode of Angel. Did anyone catch the story that Wesley read to Fred, before she turned into a blue haired demon last week? Hint... Sara Crewe. It was one of my favorite books as a kid, A Little Princess. That's why Angel is such quality TV.
