Are You Watching? (Not According to the Ads)

Opinion 6 Responses »
Oct 302008

Are you watching the greatest news and political analysis on tv?

I’m talking, of course, about the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Rachel is extremely smart, hilariously funny, gracious and polite to even the guests with whom she totally disagrees, and I have to say, totally hot. Apparently before becoming the first out lesbian to host a prime-time national political program, she was the first out lesbian Rhodes Scholar.

I first heard about her show from LesbianDad back in August, when Rachel was also interviewed on AfterEllen.com.

I’m sorry to say, I didn’t go watch right away. It took me until Josie was maybe 2 weeks old, and up at 3 am. I was channel surfing, and her show jumped out at me.

Within 3 days, I’d figured out when she was on during prime time, and Jill and I started watching together.

Now, 6 or 7 weeks later, we organize our evenings around watching “our celebrity girlfriend” and we get unreasonably upset about the fact that she isn’t on tv on Saturday nights.

Before this show, during the last few years, I’d become less of a news consumer than a “news snacker.” I rarely watched tv news, and rarely read the newspaper since Noah was born. I got my news from NPR — all the time, even during pledge drives — and online. Jill watched the local news and read the paper, but I generally only watched and read the paper in short bursts. What’s also odd is that I was NOT raised that way — I was raised watching local news, national news, and McNeil-Lerher. Every day. And reading both daily papers, plus the Sunday New York Times.

Still, I’d become a news snacker. The only regular source of news I had was NPR — and since getting laid off, less of that because I no longer have a daily driving commute.
I’m moving back to being a news consumer. Thanks to Rachel.

In fact, not only do we watch Rachel every night, I often watch Keith Olberman after she’s over, and am regularly tuning in to the local news when he’s over. (Olberman, though funny, really is kind of the liberal answer to conservative ranting talk show hosts, not as gracious or funny IMO. And way less hot.)

But it doesn’t seem like Moms are watching Rachel.

I say that because most of the ads seem to be for erectile dysfunction drugs, prostate issues drugs, and cholesterol drugs. (Plus very exciting political ads paid for by both the Republican and Democratic National Senatorial Campaign Committees in my unexpectedly swing state of Georgia.)

The only ad that seems to be oriented towards women is the Lauren Bacall chronic illness ad and some breast cancer organizations.

Is the viewing audience skewing much older? It doesn’t seem like it should! She’s young, she’s funny, and she’s smart! Where are Pampers, or Fischer Price, or Leap Frog? We can’t be the only Moms of young children watching. And while I admit, my own father is a fan, it actually is unimaginable to me that all of Rachel’s audience is his age!

But just in case it is — GO WATCH RACHEL MADDOW! She’s amazing. And smart, funny, civilized, funny, interesting, funny, hot, and did I mention funny?

Posted by Liza at 10:00 pm

Josie’s First Election

Opinion, The Real Live Girl 7 Responses »
Oct 292008

Josie and I went to vote today.

For those of you who have that option, I recommend taking a baby to the polling place!

From the discussion I heard, most people had to wait in line for about an hour. But Josie and I were whisked to the table at the front of the room, where we sat with two elderly voters and one physically disabled voter. A poll worker came to us to examine and certify our paperwork, and then we voted. My total wait time was just over 5 minutes.

And Josie and I both got voting stickers.

I just hope Noah isn’t mad that he didn’t get to go vote with me. It’s the first election he’s missed since he was born.

Posted by Liza at 10:03 am

And Then I Died From The Cuteness

Personal, The Real Live Boy 2 Responses »
Oct 282008

Tonight, Noah busily explained that Baby Josie wanted to swing in her swing, and when she got tired of that, she wanted more babboo. (That’s our family word for nursing.)

Indeed, she got fussy in the swing, and it seemed like it might be time for her to eat again, so I picked her up and settled in on the couch.

Noah promptly picked up a 3 inch tall plastic T-Rex and announced that it was a baby girl dinosaur and it was also a little fussy. He put the toy in the swing, then announced that the baby girl dinosaur was a little fussy and wanted some babboo.

Then he pulled up his shirt and stuck the little dinosaur’s head in his rib cage.

“Mommy! Baby dinosaur wants some babboo from ME!”

And just to top it all off, I hit our local Kohls and picked up some winter clothes at 30-50% off, for us all. Noah got 3 different dinosaur sweatshirts for $7 each. Mommy and Noah were both excited.

(Confidential to Erin: That Kohls is very nice — they’re next to Sears in the mall and you should totally look for clothes for Caroline there. This big sale runs through Thursday.)

Posted by Liza at 6:42 pm

Official Stats

Personal 3 Responses »
Oct 272008

Josie will be 2 months old on Thursday, and had her 2 month well-baby doctor visit today.

The good news is that she’s growing beautifully — 23.5 inches long, 11 lbs 4 oz, I forget the head circumference, but also between the 50-75th percentiles — probably closer to 75th.

She got a bunch of vaccines. (I’m of the “vaccinate for everything possible” school of thought, personally. The reason is because *I* am vaccinated against smallpox, because my parents vaccinated against everything possible. When I was in DC and everyone was freaking out about biological terrorism, I felt safer.)
It was sad to say goodbye to our doctor. She’s a neighbor and has two little boys, one older and one younger than Noah. And it’s sad to realize that we’re in that “the last time we XYZ” phase.

Not that we aren’t super excited for our new doctor in Milwaukee, or to get there and start building new routines. But there have been a lot of nice things about being here, and leaving them is sad.

Posted by Liza at 10:24 pm

Welcome Back, Computer!

The Real Live Boy, The Real Live Girl 3 Responses »
Oct 262008

My computer is back from a month long exile in the hall closet, where the mean old real estate agent made it go live.

Yippie! Yippie!

That means that the camera was able to disgorge all the pictures that we’ve taken in the last month or so.

Behold: Baby Josie ages before your eyes!

Josie - 1 month 3 Contemplating Calming Down Screaming Twice Josie looks at the world My Favorite Picture of Noah & Josie Almost Smiling

Also, Noah can’t see the camera out without announcing, “Take a picture of ME, Mommy!”

Ballerina Dinosaur? Frozen Cherry Hands and Arms Cheese and the Mr Personality Sticker Mustache

In other news, we have an apartment in Milwaukee. And now that I’ve alternated writing this and coaxing Josie to sleep off and on for 4 hours, I’m exhausted and going to sleep myself.

Posted by Liza at 11:14 pm

Good. Chaotic. Hard.

Moving, The Real Live Boy, The Real Live Girl, The Rest of the Fam 4 Responses »
Oct 242008

Josie and I are back from Milwaukee.

Of course she had a wonderful time being cooed at and rocked by Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Susie. She also had a great time screaming her lungs out to express how much she missed This Mommy and her big brother. She was surprisingly quiet and easygoing when dragged to an educational lunch forum and a judicial investiture — although the investiture ran a little long for her taste, forcing us to go out in the hall a few times.

The primary purpose of the trip was to find an apartment, and I am happy to report: Mission Accomplished. The second place we looked at turned out to be owned by a couple who are friends with my mom! They had one breathtakingly lovely upper flat, and had just acquired and are mid-rehabbing a charming duplex — and all of us felt the kismet of the circumstances and wanted to make sure one of the units was the right fit.

I really, reallly, really, really, really loved the two-story upper flat. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought that it wouldn’t work so well while I’m playing single parent. And the idea of going up AAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL those stairs from the basement garage with Noah and Josie was exhausting to even consider.

So I made the rational decision and we reached an agreement for a flat in the duplex. It’s on a quieter street and has a much better yard.

While Josie and I were at these various grown-up events, I also talked to a number of people about the fact that I was looking for work. That resulted in 2 leads on actual jobs, and a few other people who asked me to send them my resume and they’d keep an eye out for possible opportunities. So lots of email went out this morning.

AND, the amazing Eric volunteered his babysitting services as needed, plus gave us a demonstration of his mad Dad skillz in dealing with the chaos that inevitably erupts around small children. I think Noah is going to love playing with him and his beautiful boys.

In the mean time, back at the ranch….

It turns out that when Noah says there is a man in his ear, playing the drums, it means that he has an ear infection. Not that someone has told him he has an eardrum. Poor guy.  And poor This Mommy, who had to deal with a sad, feverish, cranky boy.

Fortunately, he was feeling better this morning and was excited to see and snuggle with me, and then to go to day care to play with his friends.

Posted by Liza at 11:06 am

Calendar of Chaos

Money, Personal, The Real Live Boy, The Real Live Girl, The Rest of the Fam 7 Responses »
Oct 202008

Here’s what’s on deck for us during the coming months:

  • October 20:  Liza & Josie go to Milwaukee to find an apartment
  • October 23:  Liza and Josie return from Milwaukee
  • November 7:  Mommies close on the sale of their house
  • November 9:  Josie’s baptism
  • November 22-24:  Finish packing the house and have movers come to move everything to Milwaukee (exact date still TBD)
  • November 25:  Liza’s birthday
  • November 27:  Thanksgiving
  • November 30:  Last date that we can be in the house
  • December 1:  Liza, Noah & Josie move into an apartment in Milwaukee

On this last point, we’re still finalizing. But since Jill’s job won’t transfer with benefits or her car, we’d basically be spending her entire new income on COBRA for her and the kids plus a car so she could do the job. So we are about 85% sure that we’re going to have her stay here for December and the early part of January. February is still up for debate.

  • December 18:  Adoption Hearing
  • December 25:  Christmas
  • December 31:  NYE
  • January 1:  Happy New Years
  • January 9:  Liza’s last severance check
  • January 17:  Probable first day that Jill would need to be in Tampa to work the SuperBowl
  • January 21-22:  Possible unbloggable trip Liza needs to take; possible that Josie could travel too
  • February 1:  The SuperBowl
  • February 3:  Probable first day that Jill could leave Tampa after working the SuperBowl and join the rest of the family in Milwaukee
  • February 10:  Noah turns 3 

Ahem.

Hello? Calling the villiage! It looks like we’re going to really need you over the next few months. We need a place for Jill to stay for a couple of months, cheap enough that it is less than the cost of COBRA and a car rental in Milwaukee. We need help for me to manage as a single parent for a couple of months, while also looking for a full time job.

In the mean time, I’m also looking for more ways to earn money writing, which, of course, is a lot harder when Noah and Josie are around and I’m responsible for them. (Not impossible, just unpredictable. Right now, Noah is eating breakfast and Josie is sleeping, while I’m blogging and Jill is in the shower. But this blog obviously has no deadlines.)

I’m still working that election post. It’s coming — hopefully this week while Grandma is eagerly snuggling baby Josie.

Posted by Liza at 7:12 am
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