girl at large

Living with a Rossetto

There are some things you must overlook when living with a handy Rossetto man. Like this contraption.. There is another fan at the other end of the laundry chute. I have to admit, it does work--the house is cool and comfortable.
Of course, we also have central air.

Baby's First Vehicle

The first is the vehicle Paulie wanted to buy this weekend, the second is the one he needed to! He's still going to speed, I know it. Vroom Vroom

Pride of Place

I'm nervous about having Paul's parents over for dinner. The house isn't ready for company yet. The kitchen cabinets are only half done, there are paint swatches on every wall, we have ants, the garden is full of thistles, the basement is a disaster zone and everything needs another move-in deep clean. This is more house (1500 sq ft!) than I've ever cleaned or fixed up before. I'm not convinced bigger is better--too much work!

The first time I attended a casual family BBQ at The Rossettos, Paul's mom got down on her hands and knees (after changing into cleaning clothes) and hand scrubbed the gleaming white kitchen/dining room tile floor. The party was in the yard and garage, she had placed protective rugs over the floor, and protective bed sheets over the rugs. Not a "sole" had crossed that floor. And yet she cleaned it again.

I cannot have them over.

Paul reassurred me that our house was up to snuff, then paused as he watched an ant meander up the wall..."My dad washes his curbside garbage cans inside and out every week. Yeah, they can never come over here".

"Birthing Center" --Yeah, Right.

Things that freaked out me during the tour of the "birthing center" at the hospital:

-You can't walk down the hall with baby in your arms, it must be in the hamburger-warmer-cart-crib at all times in the hallways.

-"No one really ever uses" the water tub so it's not a problem to only have one.

-Three different staff members proudly touted the brand new state of the art bar code baby security system so I don't have to worry that someone will "steal my baby". They actually said "steal your baby" three times.

-The new security system will probably go off if you stand too close to the windows. Natural daylight is out!

-They bragged about having 2 cesarean rooms. Cesareans are operations, the hospital has 10+ operating rooms. 

-We got 10 minutes of step by step instructions on how to use the digital baby photo booth (again, baby can only be in the hamburger warmer cart). Zero minutes on pain management techiques offered.

-You are transferred from your delivery room to a postpardum room an hour after delivery. An hour. That first precious hour is interrupted with a room change. I don't think even the Ramada would do that.

-The only thing they directed towards Paul, the only eye contact even made with  him (my birth partner, my husband and the freakin' father!) was to address how and where to park upon arrival. 

Pink Overload

I wandered down the kids toys aisles at Target the other day when baby shower registering (registering against my will--that's another story!) and was floored by the blatantly sexist coloring and design! One side pink, one side blue.

I don't get it, I remember toys when we were kids being colored like the items they were imitating or in neutral brights---the grocery store play set was colored like a grocery store (if a somewhat garish one). The play kitchen was primary colors. Not all pink. And when did erector sets only have a boy on the package? And when did legos become boys only too? And why does a car for girls have to be pink for a girl to like it?
And the vacuum is in the girls aisle only?

How did we slide so far backwards? I'm not usually the type to make a stink about these things (we need bigger problems) but jeez!!!! I'm disgusted.

Dare I even walk into Babies/Toys R Us or will my head explode?