I Love Scott Baio

Before I loved Corey Feldman, I loved Scott Baio. I loved Chachi. I thought he was so cute and I watched Happy Days religiously.

I loved Charles in Charge, and Zapped was the first "dirty" movie I ever saw. I remember being quite shocked about that movie. We watched it at my Aunt Carol's house -- my brother, sister, and I were sleeping in a pallet on the floor and found that movie on cable. We didn't have cable at my house, and would never have been allowed to watch a rated R movie. Luckily we didn't get caught.

I was so excited to see Scott show up at Bob Loblaw on Arrested Development -- it's amazing how adorable Scott Baio still is. It's like he hasn't aged at all. I don't know how he does it. I guess all that sex with starlets keeps you young.

Now Scott is back on TV, on Scott Baio is 45 and Single. I guess he's decided that he needs to figure out why he hasn't gotten married. He is deathly afraid of commitment. So he's hired a life coach to help him figure out his problem.

I have to say -- the show is really enjoyable. Way better than The Two Coreys. Scott seems like an OK guy. I mean, he'd never date a normal person, but he doesn't come across as an asshole.

And it's funny to see his friends -- a few of them were formerly famous -- the older (not cute) brother on Wonder Years, for example. His best friend is some guy who seems like he just likes to hang out with Scott in order to live off his fame and fortune and access to women. Kinda sad.

It seems all I do is watch TV lately. Now that Emiko sleeps through the night -- more or less -- I get to watch TV again. So I've been watching more reality TV than I ever have in my life. Scott Baio is 45 and Single is definitely my favorite of the bunch. It's also better than Top Chef -- there are just too many chefs to keep up with, and way better than Food Network's Next Star, which sucked a lot.

Now I think I'll go read something while Emiko is still taking a nap.

The Two Coreys!

I loved Corey Feldman back in the day. I saw Lost Boys about a million times. We even somehow convinced our gifted and talented teacher to show it during out G/T class in 9th grade.

My very first boyfriend -- Chris something -- looked just like Corey Feldman. He was the first cute boy to ever noticed my existence. We met at a camp for gifted kids in Arkansas the summer after 8th grade. (Who knew you could meet cute boys at G/T camp???) We smooched in a movie theater -- I can't remember what movie it was. It was such a great summer. Sigh. . .

So I've always had a soft spot for Corey Feldman. I know that Corey Haim was always considered the cuter of the two, but CF just seemed quirkier; he seemed like the kind of boy who would like me. CH seemed like he'd be more into strippers.

Now the two Coreys are back! Thank God for A&E Network for bringing them back to me. Turns out I didn't miss them as much as I thought. CF is married to a really hot babe who gets a big spread in FHM magazine during episode 2. Corey Feldman -- I just knew you'd be married to a quirky cute English teacher. What happened??? And now he's a vegetarian and they are big supporters of PETA. Good Lord.

Corey Haim is not looking very good. CF definitely looks better -- he's barely aged at all. CH comes across as a big whiny loser. So disappointing.

But as I've already programmed the DVR to record the whole series, I'll keep watching. Nostalgia is a powerful force.

Facing Reality

I was a natural blond until I turned 18. My profile shot is from the second grade -- that proves I'm telling the truth. Then when I was in high school, I started to coloring my hair. It's been just about every color imaginable. So I didn't really notice that my roots were getting darker and darker.

No matter what color I chose, I always ended up going back to blond. I just really love blond hair.

However, I hate roots. I think it's because growing up in the South, it was considered unseemly to color your hair, so roots were a dead give-away. I always think roots look trashy. They drive me crazy. And when you go platinum, you get roots.

Now I have Emiko, so I don't have time (or the money) to get my roots touched up every two weeks. I just don't.

So on Thur, Angela took away my blond. My hair is now brown, with blond highlights in the front. It's OK -- Angela always does a great job. I just have to accept that I'm not blond anymore. If I could convince Angela to move in with me, then I could still do it. But apparently she is not interested in such an arrangement.

I don't have a pic yet, and it's no big deal. I'll have to see if Todd can take on without my looking crazy. I also got my hair cut into a pixie. It's pretty cute. Really short, though. I feel I have to wear a little more makeup now to compensate. But it dries in five minutes, which is awesome.

Sigh. I'm such a grownup these days. I'm going to be 35 in December. I don't know how that happened.

But on a completely unrelated note, as I was stopping at the red light at Addison and Elston, I happened to glance over at the guy in the car next to me. He had a huge iguana sitting on his dashboard! I tried to get a picture, but I had too many pics in my camera phone already, so the moment was lost.

Stuff Going On

I haven't posted in awhile and thought I'd better list some things that have been going on. I hate for people to wonder what I've been up to.

Todd's mom was here last weekend for a visit, and we had a nice time. She was thrilled to see Emiko, who is so huge compared to last time she saw her. We took Mom to the roller derby so she could see her son in action, but it was so hot in there that we didn't last very long. Poor Emiko fell asleep while I was wearing her in the Baby Bjorn, but she kept shaking her head trying to get some air!

We thought we were going to do a nanny share for Emiko for when I go back to work, and I've been thinking a lot about the power dynamics of white women and nannies of color -- there's that new book about it and everything. But my nanny partner just called me and said she couldn't afford a nanny share, so I'm back to the drawing board. She knows someone who she thinks can keep Emiko, though. So cross your fingers. I go back to work next week -- I'm getting a bit panicked about this.

We have a new assistant principal at my school. I'm curious about that.

I went out with Travis for his birthday Sunday night. My first night out since having Emiko. My tolerance is super low these days -- have a glass of wine and I'm buzzed, so I'm a cheap date.

We went to the Baton Club, which is amazing. Two of the drag queens were gorgeous! All the women were intimidated -- we're like -- how are these men?? And I met a woman from Monroe, Louisiana, which is where my mom is from. Her mom is from Rayville, LA, which is where my dad is from. So we had a great time talking about places in Northeast Louisiana that we miss. Then I found out my Aunt Lucy is having a 100th birthday party in Louisiana in November, and my fabulous yankee husband is letting us go!!! So he'll get to see all these places from my youth. I'm so excited -- that will be a great blog post! You think Arkansas people are crazy -- that's nothing compared to Louisiana people!!!

Last night we gave Emiko rice cereal for the first time. It was hilarious -- you could tell she was not very impressed. She'll get there. She is finally sleeping through the night, so that is super fantastic.

OK, these are the highlights of my last week or so. If you know anyone wanting to share a nanny with me, please let me know!

Yuck!

Thanks to my friend Chairman Meow, via a myspace bulletin, I have had the pleasure of reading this completely disturbing account of female teachers who have been accused of having sex with students. You may read the article yourself: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53859.

I do not understand what is wrong with these women. As a teacher, I just do not get it. I guess if you are crazy enough and perhaps lonely enough or your self esteem is in the toilet, you might get off on the power dynamic. And I know that I've had students who had little crushes on me. But that doesn't mean anything. How could anyone take advantage of that?

I guess that feeling could be good, especially if you are not accustomed to much attention from men (or women -- a few of the teachers had same sex relationships). I was curious to see what these women looked like, and several of them were quite unattractive. But some of them were really pretty. But again -- I think self esteem is the issue more than anything else. That and power.

Before reading the article, I thought all of the teachers were white, but a few of the teachers are African American, so we can't just blame the phenomenon on crazy white women. But most of them are white. And several of them are named Amy, but as Amy is the second whitest female name in America (after Molly -- thank you Freakonomics, for such great trivia!), this shouldn't raise any eyebrows.

I was glad to see that none of the teachers on the list were Chicago Public Schools teachers. So that's something.

CPS = Ridiculousness!

When I first starting teaching for CPS, I was amazed at how things work, and that amazement continues to this day. I don't think CPS will ever stop amazing me. Here are a few examples of how things are done.

My maternity leave ended June 18th. I had to report to service within two weeks of that date, or I would be considered AWOL and would then be fired. I'm trying not to get fired, so I wanted to report to service. My letter from CPS stated I needed to get a copy of Emiko's birth certificate to CPS Employee Health Services within two weeks of June 18th. So I wrote a letter saying that I was back from leave and I included a copy of Emiko's birth certificate. Done and done.

Or so I thought. 13 days after June 18th, I got a phone call from Employee Health Services. They had received my letter and birth certificate. However, that was not the way to do things. I had to go in person to the CPS offices on Elizabeth Street (in a fancy, brand new building) and "fill out the blue form." I had to also present Emiko's birth certificate at that time. Then I'd be considered back at work.

Does that make any sense??? I had to go the next day, because otherwise I'd have been AWOL. So that next morning (a Friday, no less), I packed up Emiko and away we went. We got to the Elizabeth center, and stood in line with all the new CPS teachers. Who all looked shell shocked, and well they should.

I filled out my blue form, and a woman behind the counter made a copy of Emiko's birth certificate. Then I got back in line to turn in the blue form. After that, I had to wait for the blue form to make its way to the appropriate administrator, who finally came out and gave me a letter stating that I was, indeed, back in service.

I'm to hold onto this letter, and then give it to my payroll clerk on my first day back at school next month. Does that make any sense???

Last Thursday I had to go back to the Elizabeth location for a computer training. CPS has a new attendance program -- all attendance is now being done via computer. For years and years, teachers wrote their attendance in the official CPS attendance book, called the blue book. And then the only attendance that was reported to CPS was the division attendance. Division is from about 9:45 am to 10:00 am or so. Kids would come to division, and then leave, because then they'd be counted as in attendance. Division teachers would turn in their attendance to the office, who would then turn it in the downtown. Teachers had to keep their own classroom attendance, but it didn't seem to mean much.

My high school actually won an attendance award in the winter of 2005, because our attendance had improved so much. Then last year, we started having to do attendance by computer, and every teacher had to enter his or her attendance for each class. Suddenly, the attendance from my high school went from great to completely awful. Funny how accurately reporting attendance can do that.

So now CPS has a newer version of the software for attendance reporting. And they wanted each teacher to be aware of it, so teachers were encouraged to sign up for the two hour training sessions. We were going to be paid our hourly wage for doing it, so it was worth it to me. But the procedure is so easy -- I did not need to spend two hours being trained on this system.

I'm trying to imagine how much money CPS will have spent paying each teacher for two hours at their hourly wage. Of course, a lot of teachers won't do it, but it's still probably quite a bit of money. And as we have a major budget deficit, this seems kind of ridiculous.

I would rather they use that money to remove the asbestos in my building, or perhaps they could install central heat and air. Or hire more security guards. Or put soap and paper towels in all the bathrooms.

I can't wait for school to start!

Motherhood = Crazy, continued

I am still amazed at how having a baby changes your entire body. My knees are shot. My teeth are stained -- I am pretty sure that's because I threw up throughout my pregnancy, including every single time I brushed my teeth. My midsection is completely different -- and it wasn't that great to start with.

Luckily, Emiko is really cute, and it's all worth it. But it still fascinates me.


I have been in total denial about childcare for quite some time now. I know that lots of people put themselves on daycare waiting lists while they are still pregnant. This just seems crazy, and I didn't want to think about it, so I haven't. And for so long, August seemed really far away. I kept thinking maybe Todd would get a huge bonus at work or we'd win the lottery or something, and perhaps I could stay home for a year. But now August is next month, and I have to get on it.

We had a friend who we thought might be interested in nanny-ing for us, but that didn't work out, and it's probably for the best, since it would probably be hard to have a friend working for you. So I figured a nanny was out of the question, since they are so expensive. But I found an ad on craigslist for a nanny share, which I hope will work out. The person who wants to share is also a CPS teacher, who also teaches on the south side, so I think that's a good sign. At least we'll have the exact same schedule, and she'll understand the joy that we teachers get to experience on a daily basis.

She wants to host the nanny at her place, which is not too far from here, so that's OK with me. I hope she's not a crazy person and that we'll get along OK. Her daughter is a few months older than Emiko, so that is great. And a nanny share is really the best chance I have at getting a nanny. So I really hope it goes well and we get along and can find someone we trust to care for our children. It is scary to think about.

I've been doing all this research on nannies, whether you should pay taxes or under the table. If you should have a nanny cam, etc. I wasn't sure about a nanny cam, but then I'm reading this discussion about it on the Northside Parents Network website, and this woman told about coming home early from work to find the nanny sitting on the couch and her child just sitting in his swing. And she'd notice that a cushion was out of a chair. This seemed odd, and it happened several times. So she finally decided to look at her nanny cam footage. And to her horror, she discovered that the nanny would put her baby in the play yard as soon as the mother left for work, and would put the chair cushion ON TOP OF THE BABY! Perhaps to keep him from moving or crying or something? Then she'd nap or whatever. A few hours later she'd move the baby to his swing. Good Lord! Needless to say, that nanny was fired. But these are things that worry me.

So cross your fingers that everything goes well. And if you know any non-crazy nannies looking for work, please let me know!

Kwik-E-Mart!

Todd, Emiko, and I made the journey to Oak Park to visit the 7-11 that has been transformed into a Kwik-E-Mart in celebration of the upcoming Simpsons Movie. It was super fantastic!!!


We got our very own Squishees, and bought a six pack of Buzz Cola. I doubt we'll actually eat the Frosted KrustyO's -- or maybe we'll eat them and then save the box. (Much like we did with the Hot Chicken Snack we got at Super H Mart last weekend.) We also got a couple of bobble heads. I wanted a Homer chia pet, but that seemed a little excessive!



Now Emiko will have further proof of what dorks her parents are. We can live with that.

CPS Teachers Without a Contract

The current contract for Chicago Public School teachers expired on Saturday. So I don't have a contract. Marilyn Stewart, our esteemed Chicago Teachers Union president, was interviewed on 848 on Chicago Public Radio about the negotiations this morning. We won't have a new contract until well into the fall -- no one will go on strike in the summer. They'll at least wait until we get a couple of paychecks under our belts.

We almost went on strike during our last contract negotiation. Which is why we ended up with such a crappy contract. That was my first year teaching in Chicago. So I had enough to worry about without dealing with strike authorizations. I think the CTU leadership believes that strike talk will make Arne Duncan listen to our demands, but I think it just scares the membership into accepting whatever contract we can get. Arne will get paid no matter what -- but I can't afford to strike. We're still figuring out how much we can afford for childcare.

They've been talking about striking since last fall. So it'll be interesting to see what happens when I go back to work next month.

Two major problems with the current contract are the health insurance premiums and the lack of job security. Right now, when your pay goes up, so do your premiums. And until you are tenured (which is at the discretion of your principal), your principal can fire you anytime he or she wants to. With no questions asked and no right to due process.

I was really concerned I would be fired while on maternity leave. It happens fairly regularly. But so far, so good. I had to go to CPS on Friday to officially report to service -- my maternity leave is over. I had a new position number, but I still have a position. So that's something.

I don't know what my concerns are about the new contract. Job security would be nice, but now that I have four years of experience, my principal can fire me whenever she wants, but she at least has to give me a reason. That's what four years in CPS earns you. Of course, my four months of maternity leave don't count towards that four years, so I'm really not out of the woods until the end of December.

My biggest issue is the fact that CPS teachers do not get any pay during maternity leave. That and I think CPS teachers should get some kind of childcare assistance or incentives. About half my salary is going to pay for childcare for Emiko. Thank God Todd is not a teacher. I don't know how people do it. But the union does not seem interested in tackling those issues.

But if we go on strike, think of the stories I can tell! Although I'm pretty sure crazy student stories are more entertaining.

Motherhood = Crazy

Emiko had her four month checkup this morning. She had her second round of vaccinations, which she handled like a champ. A champ who screams bloody murder. But she's fine, and should sleep really well tonight, which is a bit of a plus for me.

I was talking to Emiko's doctor, who I really like, but looks like he's twelve. I was telling him that nursing wasn't going very well and I was about to give up. Emiko won't even nurse anymore. When I try, she cries. Which really hurts my feelings! So I am still pumping at least twice a day, and try to give Emiko at least one bottle of breast milk a day. I keep thinking maybe I will stop, but I feel so guilty about it.

Dr. Merok suggested that I should listen to my baby -- if she's ready to stop nursing, then that's all there is to it. He assured me that Emiko was doing great -- she's all caught up with regular full term four month old babies. So if I want to nurse, fine, but I should stop torturing myself.

Last Wednesday Emiko had her Early Intervention evaluation to determine if she qualified for services based upon her being a preemie. Some preemies are at increased risk for developmental delays. But not Emiko -- she passed with flying colors! I talked to the speech pathologist at length about Emiko and the troubles we are having with nursing. The pathologist said that Emiko doesn't have a weak suck -- she just prefers drinking from a bottle. And that that's fine -- developmentally at least, Emiko is doing beautifully and so if I want to stop nursing, then I should.

So now I've gotten permission from my husband (I don't know why, I just need his approval about this), Emiko's doctor, and a speech pathologist to stop nursing. But as I type this, I'm pumping. What the hell is wrong with me???

I feel so guilty about wanting to quit. I feel guilty that I don't have the time to pump the five times per day I really should be if I want to keep up with Emiko's needs. I'm not back at work yet, so I have plenty of time, right? And I feel selfish -- why would I not want to do what's best for my baby's health???

Then I read this article: http://www.babble.com/content/articles/features/dispatches/ingall/, and I found the quotation that sums it all up for me: "Breastfeeding was my last chance to get something right."

I had such amazing plans for what Emiko's delivery would be like. I was going to labor in the Alternative Birth Center in the tub. I was going to listen to music and Todd was going to rub my shoulders and scratch my back through contractions. As soon as Emiko was born, Todd was going to cut the umbilical cord and then Emiko was going to inch up my belly and start to nurse, just like those babies in that Swedish movie they show in childbirth class. It was going to be perfect.

Then Emiko came six weeks early. I didn't even know I was in labor -- it was the fastest labor ever. But it meant that as soon as Emiko was born, the nurse cut the cord and they took her away. We didn't get to labor in the tub. Todd never scratched my back. We didn't even take the camera -- I just thought I felt kinda lousy and wanted my nurse midwife to tell me that everything was OK.

Of course I think it's my fault that Emiko was premature. I know it's unreasonable, and not true. But I can't get over feeling that way. It seems like that was my first parenting failure. So nursing took on even more significance.

It is nearly impossible to establish breastfeeding in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. We were crammed in a room full of babies, and it was a big pain to get the screen out to give moms privacy. And that was only if you had a nurse amenable to that idea. Some of the nurses were very pro-nursing, and others weren't. So I had to pump to get my milk established, and basically waited until Emiko came home to try to figure out how to nurse.

It's hard to compete with twelve days of bottle feeding. Of course Emiko would like that better. It's easier. But she was willing to nurse once we got home. We nursed pretty much exclusively the first two weeks home. Then I took her to the clinic to be weighed, and she'd gained one ounce. In two weeks. So we had to start supplementing. We would nurse, and then I'd give her a bottle of either pumped milk or formula.

I felt like such a failure having to give Emiko formula. It's so crazy -- but it was so upsetting. Then I kinda started to accept that it was OK -- I had to tell myself that "formula is not failure." But I never completely believed it.

But things went along like that for quite awhile -- we were nursing well up to about a month and a half ago. Then Emiko started really freaking out when we'd try to nurse. So I hired a lactation consultant, who for $200 told me that Emiko had a weak suck and I have low supply. She instructed me to pump every time I gave Emiko a bottle. Pumping takes half an hour. I would have to pump five or six times a day. How do you do that? Emiko is not so good at sitting still. And it's really hard to hold a baby while pumping.

Now Emiko is teething, so she is completely done with nursing. I guess maybe it hurts her aching gums when she nurses. I used to be able to get her to nurse when she was sleepy or first thing in the morning, but now she refuses. If I try keep trying, she just screams louder. I can't make her nurse.

So why do I keep doing it??? Emiko doesn't care. Her health is great. She is happy and adorable and well-adjusted. Why am I so crazy???

It's just that the whole time I was pregnant, I was so determined that I would nurse. And I've worked so hard -- how do I just give up?

I'm trying to make it to six months. I'm not back at work until the end of August. Emiko is sleeping much better -- so I maybe have more time for pumping. I'm going to keep at it for now. But I think about quitting every day.