Or "This is What's Wrong With the Insurance Industry":
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,564501,00.html
A 4-month-old baby was denied health coverage for being too fat. TOO FAT. At 17 pounds, he is at 99% on the growth curve. Of course, maybe his parents are feeding him Snickers bars while he sleeps, so this is entirely reasonable. Oh, wait, nope, HE'S BREASTFED. Eats when he's hungry, until he's not hungry anymore. Like every other reasonable baby.
I could go on and on and on about how ridiculous I think this is. Or how an otherwise perfectly healthy baby with Downs Syndrome has never been able to get health coverage for having a "pre-existing condition."
This is just a little part of why genetics non-discrimination legislation and health care reform are needed. What that should look like, I don't know. But clearly needed!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
She's a Maniac
File this under "Baby Products I Didn't Know About While Finn Was Teeny-Weeny": Babylegs
OK, these are really knock-offs from Target, because I'm too cheap to buy the name brand. Target calls them "Leg Warmers." Which is all Babylegs really are, anyway. Brings back fond memories of dance class and Benetton sweatshirts. I like them because you can pair them with a onesie, and you get warm covered legs and easy access to snaps for diaper changes. Plus, if my little chunky monkey was actually crawling, these would protect her knees. Genius!
Now we just need a ripped sweatshirt and a headband to complete the look...
OK, these are really knock-offs from Target, because I'm too cheap to buy the name brand. Target calls them "Leg Warmers." Which is all Babylegs really are, anyway. Brings back fond memories of dance class and Benetton sweatshirts. I like them because you can pair them with a onesie, and you get warm covered legs and easy access to snaps for diaper changes. Plus, if my little chunky monkey was actually crawling, these would protect her knees. Genius!
Now we just need a ripped sweatshirt and a headband to complete the look...
Friday, October 9, 2009
Skintastic
I had to run out today to CVS to pick up a couple of things, and as I strolled the aisles and browsed to out-of-date music (Whitney Houston - sigh, what a waste of a voice...), I was brought back to memories of high school and college vacations. Given a lack of things to do other than congregate in someone's basement and watch movies (because God forbid we drive 20 whole miles to Boston to find something ACTUALLY INTERESTING to do), we often found ourselves roaming the fluorescently-lit shelves, helping each other pick out hair dye or nail polish, buying the latest People magazine, picking out the perfect "I'm bored" snack. Hm, can you tell that I didn't do a whole lot of dating in high school? Anyway, for some reason, CVS was our go-to place to find entertainment when we were bored. And on this beautiful Friday, with no real ambition to hurry back to my office, I lingered a bit longer than I had to. Because really, how long could it take to find the diaper rash cream section and grab the Triple paste (hint, it's near the diapers)?
To stretch out my errand a bit longer, I perused the skincare aisle. More for window shopping purposes than with the actual intention of buying anything. I've been thinking about switching up my skincare regimen for some time now. I've been using Proactive for about 2 years or so, but I'm not crazy about receiving a shipment of products every 3 months in the mail - I usually don't end up using it all. Probably because I never use the astringent, and I'm not very good about using the other two products regularly. Plus, my skin is still on the oily side and definitely not flawless in the acne department (see above re: failure to keep up the routine). Anywho, the whole system is based on using products with benzoyl peroxide, and it has occurred to me that I could skip the $45 cost of the Proactive kit, and find some similar, cheaper products at the drug store.
In addition, my vanity is rearing has been rearing its ugly head. Contrary to my intentions, the whole "fitness and dieting" plan is not going well. Mostly because I have not been doing it. Oops. So I've been feeling a bit slumpy/saggy lately. Leading to more intense "Do I look old? Ugly?" pondering sessions in front of the mirror (hey, I'm not proud of this, I acknowledge it's ridiculous). And while I may have a less-than traditional nose, a slightly (M., don't you dare suggest it's anything more than slightly) double chin, and less than perfect skin, I have always been able to rely on my eyes and my smile, two things I could count on to come through for me in the looks department. But alas, they are, in a combined effort, betraying me now. For what may have started out as an ever-so-slight, adorable little crease by my eyes when I smile, has become a full-fledged set of crows eyes. FULL-FLEDGED, people. Ants could build nests in the crevasses, burros could take groups of fanny-packing families on tours into the gorges of my eye skin.
I'm only 32, people, I've got many decades yet to see just how deep these suckers can grow. OR, I can try to stem the rising tides, so to speak. Which may involve never smiling again - which, curses! It's my go-to expression whenever I don't know what to say. Or, I could use some eye cream. Yes, much better solution.
So, there I was, perusing the skincare aisle at CVS. Little did I know that you now need a Ph.D. in Chemistry to shop there. Apparently one in Biology is not good enough. I can handle the collagen, the basic vitamins, soy, retinol, heck, I've even heard of Hyaluronic Acid (by the way, I love that Wikipedia refers to it as a "goo" molecule - makes me think of those sitcom-style heavy green masks). But what the hell is celluzyme? And I KNOW what an oligopeptide is, but I don't know what the hell you've put in your scrub when you tell me it's an ingredient. I mean, if you restrict yourself to the standared 22 amino acids, there's probably only eleventy-billion possible oligopeptides out there, so I guess I'm the idiot, right? What kind of marketing technique is this, anyway? Who decided that listing a bunch of science-y sounding words on lotion bottles was the way to go? I can just imagine the product development and marketing meetings: Ooh, we've got them this time, a 12-syllable word AND it ends in -inositol. Score!
Clearly, I have no idea what I am doing anymore when it comes to skincare. So I put it out to you, my dear readers. What do you use that you like? Looking for tips on cleanser, acne control, every-day lotion, eye-wrinkle-prevention cream, whatever you've got. The less they break the bank, the better. Help this poor, aging hag before she actually looks like one!
To stretch out my errand a bit longer, I perused the skincare aisle. More for window shopping purposes than with the actual intention of buying anything. I've been thinking about switching up my skincare regimen for some time now. I've been using Proactive for about 2 years or so, but I'm not crazy about receiving a shipment of products every 3 months in the mail - I usually don't end up using it all. Probably because I never use the astringent, and I'm not very good about using the other two products regularly. Plus, my skin is still on the oily side and definitely not flawless in the acne department (see above re: failure to keep up the routine). Anywho, the whole system is based on using products with benzoyl peroxide, and it has occurred to me that I could skip the $45 cost of the Proactive kit, and find some similar, cheaper products at the drug store.
In addition, my vanity is rearing has been rearing its ugly head. Contrary to my intentions, the whole "fitness and dieting" plan is not going well. Mostly because I have not been doing it. Oops. So I've been feeling a bit slumpy/saggy lately. Leading to more intense "Do I look old? Ugly?" pondering sessions in front of the mirror (hey, I'm not proud of this, I acknowledge it's ridiculous). And while I may have a less-than traditional nose, a slightly (M., don't you dare suggest it's anything more than slightly) double chin, and less than perfect skin, I have always been able to rely on my eyes and my smile, two things I could count on to come through for me in the looks department. But alas, they are, in a combined effort, betraying me now. For what may have started out as an ever-so-slight, adorable little crease by my eyes when I smile, has become a full-fledged set of crows eyes. FULL-FLEDGED, people. Ants could build nests in the crevasses, burros could take groups of fanny-packing families on tours into the gorges of my eye skin.
I'm only 32, people, I've got many decades yet to see just how deep these suckers can grow. OR, I can try to stem the rising tides, so to speak. Which may involve never smiling again - which, curses! It's my go-to expression whenever I don't know what to say. Or, I could use some eye cream. Yes, much better solution.
So, there I was, perusing the skincare aisle at CVS. Little did I know that you now need a Ph.D. in Chemistry to shop there. Apparently one in Biology is not good enough. I can handle the collagen, the basic vitamins, soy, retinol, heck, I've even heard of Hyaluronic Acid (by the way, I love that Wikipedia refers to it as a "goo" molecule - makes me think of those sitcom-style heavy green masks). But what the hell is celluzyme? And I KNOW what an oligopeptide is, but I don't know what the hell you've put in your scrub when you tell me it's an ingredient. I mean, if you restrict yourself to the standared 22 amino acids, there's probably only eleventy-billion possible oligopeptides out there, so I guess I'm the idiot, right? What kind of marketing technique is this, anyway? Who decided that listing a bunch of science-y sounding words on lotion bottles was the way to go? I can just imagine the product development and marketing meetings: Ooh, we've got them this time, a 12-syllable word AND it ends in -inositol. Score!
Clearly, I have no idea what I am doing anymore when it comes to skincare. So I put it out to you, my dear readers. What do you use that you like? Looking for tips on cleanser, acne control, every-day lotion, eye-wrinkle-prevention cream, whatever you've got. The less they break the bank, the better. Help this poor, aging hag before she actually looks like one!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Hair, Hair Everywhere
Finn was only 5 months old when he got his first haircut. I did it mostly because, a) my mom and grandmother were overly insistent that I do so, and b) no matter how much blue I dressed him in, or how many footballs were on his onesie, we continually got asked how old our daughter was. I think you'll agree, he had quite a lot of hair:
I cut it myself, and managed not to make him bleed despite his head that moved every 1.5 seconds. But oh, I was sad to lose those curls! (though they did come back briefly when he was about 9 months old)
Before:
And after:
Yesterday, at just about the exact same age, I gave Lucy her first haircut. Now she does not, in any way, have as much hair as Finn did at this age. What she does (did) have, was a very long, straggly mullet that has been getting all tied up in knots every night while she sleeps on her back. To try and control the rat's nest that has been forming each night, I decided to trim just the back of Lucy's hair.
I'm afraid I don't have any "Before" pictures that do the mullet justice. Instead, here are the "During" action shots and a somewhat decent "After" shot:
Again, no bleeding (or crying). I imagine that Lucy will be experiencing haircuts far less often than Finn, who recently got a buzz cut for haircut #371 (or so).
Some bonus pics from this weekend:
OK, this one is actually from last weekend, but it was too cute to pass up
Sleeping in the stroller at a local park
Trying on his Halloween costume
Practicing sitting on her own
At a local farm stand, checking out the pick-your-own flowers
I cut it myself, and managed not to make him bleed despite his head that moved every 1.5 seconds. But oh, I was sad to lose those curls! (though they did come back briefly when he was about 9 months old)
Before:
And after:
Yesterday, at just about the exact same age, I gave Lucy her first haircut. Now she does not, in any way, have as much hair as Finn did at this age. What she does (did) have, was a very long, straggly mullet that has been getting all tied up in knots every night while she sleeps on her back. To try and control the rat's nest that has been forming each night, I decided to trim just the back of Lucy's hair.
I'm afraid I don't have any "Before" pictures that do the mullet justice. Instead, here are the "During" action shots and a somewhat decent "After" shot:
Again, no bleeding (or crying). I imagine that Lucy will be experiencing haircuts far less often than Finn, who recently got a buzz cut for haircut #371 (or so).
Some bonus pics from this weekend:
OK, this one is actually from last weekend, but it was too cute to pass up
Sleeping in the stroller at a local park
Trying on his Halloween costume
Practicing sitting on her own
At a local farm stand, checking out the pick-your-own flowers
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