midnight madness

recent events in the Davis household have brought to my attention some generally inconsistent emotions. Jackie has been sick. one of her milk ducts in her left boob became infected and developed into something called  mastitis. Thank goodness Aunt Niesy was visiting this week or we would have been really screwed. Also, Kingsley (one of the dogs) has been having seizures. So what does it mean to this poor blogger. Not as much as you would think. I've been working 6 days/week and not as involved with the goings on of the household as I would like to be. I don't get home until after 7:00pm, so by the time I get home and eat dinner there's a little time to play with Gracyn, hold Evelyn and then it's bath time, then bed time, then time to feed Evelyn again and go to bed. Jackie's mastitis has kept her from waking up with Evelyn for the middle of the night feedings. So, I'm happy because work is going well, upset that I don't see my girls as much as I want, thankful that Neisy is here, distressed because Jackie is sick, exhausted on account of midnight feedings and ecstatic because I just found out that I have a ticket to the Steelers vs. Rams game on Dec. 24th (thanks Mason). So two nights ago I had to wake up with Evelyn every 3 hours to change and feed her. Not so bad. Just tiresome after a while. Night before last this is what happened. After falling asleep around 1:00am, Evelyn woke up at 2 to eat. I rolled out of bed and picked up the crying infant. I talked to her for a bit and calmed her down. Proceeded to the next room to change her. No poop. "Where's the poop?" I asked her. Stupid question, right? So I get a new diaper on. screaming. walk downstairs and start to warm up a bottle. As I'm holding the distressed child I begin to hear a shakey whimpering sound from the living room. Kingsley's having a seizure. Great. So I put Evelyn in the pack-n-play, grab a towel from the laundry room and hold it over Kingsley's pee hole. (he pees when he has seizures). I caught almost all the pee before it had a chance to get soak into the carpet. Evelyn still crying, I remember that I had her bottle in the bottle warmer. Crap. Overheated. So I throw the bottle into the freezer and get back to Kingsley. Done with seizing, he was laying on the floor in recovery. I pick up Evelyn, go to the freezer to get the bottle. A little too cool now, but I give it to her anyway, she's still screaming for crying out loud. I put he bottle in her little mouth and walk back to the living room. Standing over Kingsley, I hear (and feel) what cannot be mistaken as a very loud, very explosive crap. I look at Evelyn, "oh, there's the poop." Kingsley seems stable, so I get back to the changing table. Now I'm standing there wondering if I should interrupt the feeding to change the diaper. There's just something about eating while sitting in her own feces that makes me cringe. Reluctantly I take the bottle, set it on the dining room table and commence the changing process. Take her out of the blanket, unbutton onsie, lift legs, unfasten diaper, take a look at the damage. Oh man, what the hell. it's fricken everywhere. her onsie, the blanket, half way up her back. damn it. So unavoidably she starts crying again. I lift her legs, slide each arm out, then over her head. onsie off. stage one complete. I open the blanket to make a little receiving area for the rest of the dirty, discarded garments. we use a changing pad thing so we don't get the changing table messy; well that has poop on it now too. I take that off and lay her directly on the changing table. Ok. All of the poopy things are away from my work station. I clean her up with baby wipes (probably used 50 or so), lift her up, wipe the changing table off (another 50 wipes). New diaper on, clean onsie, new blanket. Done. I put off dealing with the pile of poopy stuff so I can feed her the rest of the bottle. Put the bottle in her mouth. Stopped crying. All is well, right? Wrong. Kingsley seizes again. Son of a bitch! At this point I couldn't take the bottle from Evelyn again. So I make sure Kingsley isn't going to hit his head on anything, push the towel close to his belly and let the seizure pass. Ok. It looks like Evelyn is almost done with the bottle, she's relaxed and calm and her eyes are closing ever so slightly. She's content. I take her back upstairs and lay her down. Get back downstairs, help Kingsley up, get him some medicine, clean the pee spots on the carpet, throw all baby poop and dog pee stuff in the washer and go back to bed. You're not going to believe this, but 2 hours later the almost exact same events occurred in almost the exact same order. Welcome to fatherhood. Anyway, Jackie is feeling better today, Kingsley seems to be over his bout of seizures and Evelyn will continue to cry, poop, eat and sleep until she passes the infancy stage. Let's hope that's the end of midnight feeding catastrophes.

first haiku

political crap
congressional budget cuts
move to canada

beavis and butthead
a generation speaks out
live love scooby snacks

there's probably an art to this but i'll never understand it. i'm too wrapped up in children, cornhole and lindsay lohan to worry about obscure poetry.

The Me Party

In lieu of the debt ceiling "crisis" I'm proposing a resolution to appoint a congressional representative in the House from the Me Party. This party serves my self interest. I figure I'm a pretty regular guy and my family lives a pretty regular life. If I have a representative in Washington that sticks up for what I believe and votes how I want him/her to vote, then I figure other people who may consider themselves regular will be represented as well. Here's what I think is phenomenal about this idea: not once will this representative speak to anyone who is not directly represented by him/her. no press. no other party people. no celebrity golfing. no communication of any kind. facebook. twitter. blogging. nothing. What will this accomplish? It will guarantee that no influence except the people of whom are represented will be expressed by the Me Party representative. So many of our political battles are played, won and lost in the political arena of lobbyists, martini lunches and media savvy, money hungry msnbc, fox news and cnn journalists. I literally heard at least 5 reputable journalists say this morning that the debt ceiling crisis was not that big of a deal. These are the same fat ass fear mongers that suckered me into watching their news programs every day for the past 5 weeks by saying that this vote is one of the most important votes in recent political history.

So what happens now? maybe I'll be able to answer that tomorrow....but I doubt it. I'm getting kind of sick of writing about this stuff. I think I'll try some jokes, personal stories, limericks, maybe haiku. I'll just throw some stuff out there and see what sticks to the wall. how's that sound?

bunch of band-aid wielding neophytes

well I broke my promise to my ailing heart and watched the news this morning and I've been listening to talk radio all day. here's what I've come up with: the President woosed out, the Speaker of the House didn't really get what he wanted (exactly), the Tea Party-ers got exactly what they wanted and the Deficit Reduction Committee has total and complete control of how our taxes and spending changes will be regulated in the future. Does anyone know who is on the Deficit Reduction Committee? I think it should be Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin, Bevis, Butthead, Rambo and Mr. T. Who's with me? The House was scheduled to vote last night, then this morning, then this afternoon and here it is 6:30pm and they still have't voted. The political ramifications behind this saga in Washington is this: the story can be spun however you feel like interpreting it. If you're a Republican, you can see it as a victory for your guys. You can say "WOO HOO we beat the stupid wimpy President again!" but then you'll take a closer look at the bill, then you'll look at each other, then look at the bill, then look at fox news, then look at the ground, then look at a big statue of a guy sitting on a horse and starring at the White House with a shameful look, then pass out with your face in a victory cake. If you're a Democrat you can see it as a victory for your President. You can say that he is capable and competent and he may have just got the crap kicked out of him, but he's still a good leader. He, and the Democratic congressional delegation, will walk back to the swing set with their heads down, but will begin a plot for revenge. That meeting will go something like this, they'll look at each other, look at the ground, look at each other, read the bill, watch msnbc, look at the big statue of a guy with a beard, pass out with a cake knife in their hand.

So remember people, there is no such thing as a victory or a defeat in Washington. As long as people are talking, we can spin the story however we feel like it. Damn I love this country.....and cake.

thanks

Due to my news-induced rising blood pressure, I've sworn off watching tv until Tuesday. This has given me some time to think about my personal life and my wonderful family. Over the past 17 months my family has gone through some difficult times. I got a promotion, lost my job, moved twice and had a baby. Any one of those things happening to a family is cause for increased stress levels, but all in less than a year and a half would cause some to just lay down and cry. I feel it's not out of line to thank a few people whom have been particularly wonderful to us during our times of turmoil and triumph. First of all, thank you to my wonderful wife for all the love and support. I really couldn't be who I am without you baby. I love you so much. Cort, Dave, Fia, Roman. You guys have been so helpful and supportive. Thank you for opening you home to us and treating us well. You're all ok in my book. Mom, Dad, Justin, we couldn't have sustained life without your support. Thank you so much for everything. I can't wait to bend a few elbows with you on my birthday. Mammy and Grandpa, you've shown me nothing but warmth and compassion during a time when I'm sure you just wanted to strangle me with your bare hands. Thank you for not widowing my wife. Grandmom and Popops, you guys are undeniably the most wonderful people I've ever met. Nicey, Micky, Adam and Jenny, I know you've gone through some changes in your families too. I love all of you and I'm so happy to be part of your family. UB, you're more awesome than you probably know. Aunt Trudy and her wonderful family, I hope we can all reconnect soon. Bobbi Jo, I know you didn't have to do some of the things you did. You are kind and wonderful and I'm so glad to have you as a friend. Thanks to everyone who gave me a positive recommendation so I could land a new job. For the record, I applied to just over 600 jobs in just under 60 days. It's hard out there. I apologize in advance if I missed anyone. Thanks again....until next time.

as promised

I said before that I would comment on what I hear back from my congressman when I hear back from my congressman. Well, I've heard back via email. Here is the response to my letter of concern:

Dear Mr. Davis,

Thank you for contacting me with your views regarding ongoing federal budget negotiations.  It is good to hear from you, and I would appreciate your continued input on important issues facing our nation. 

During the greatest economic crisis our country has seen in a generation, I do believe Congress must pass a budget that is fiscally responsible.  In addition, I believe we must pass a budget that lays out a pragmatic timeframe for reducing our $14 trillion national debt, a debt we should not pass down to our children.  However, while reducing the national debt remains one of my main priorities, Congress must ensure certain programs such as Social Security and Medicare are not raided or cut in order to pay off unrelated debts. Current proposals continue to include cuts to these programs, when such suggestions should be off the table.  We must also protect benefits for our active duty military, military retirees, and veterans.  Balancing the nation's budget on the backs of seniors and our current and past servicemembersis unacceptable. Rest assured as Congress continues to consider future budget proposals I will keep your views in mind, and I will work with my colleagues on common sense solutions toward addressing the United States economic situation.

Thanks again for taking the time to contact me.  If you would like to learn more about my positions on the issues or stay updated on important developments in Congress, please visit www.kissell.house.gov and sign up for our E-Newsletter to keep you more informed of my work in Congress.  Please check my website for more information.  I look forward to hearing from you again soon.

Sincerely,

 
Larry Kissell
Member of Congress


I"m kind of up in arms about this response. It is definitely a "reply all" kind of response. I'm sure that the Congressman's staff has one-size-fits-all emails that they use to reply to different national/international issues. I'm just not sure if that's good enough for me. My Congressman represents me. I know he represents a bunch of other people too, but I'd like to think that if he wants my vote, he would take the time to give a legitimate response to an honest voter's concern. Anyway, that's my take. let me know what you think.

out of many, we are one

After watching the President speak last night I feel it's my responsibility to make a few comments. First of all, the President spoke well. If nothing else, he's an eloquent speaker and has good speech writers. But he didn't really say anything. There was no substance, no time line and no announcement of an agreement. Where is that speech? I am a "real American" (what does that mean anyway???). I depend on both national and local forms of government to maintain my lifestyle. I'm a voter and a taxpayer. I have a voice, a keyboard and internet access. So here I go: I, like many of you, have been following the debt ceiling situation over the past few months. The media tells us that the government runs out of money on August 2nd. What does that mean? I don't know. Does it mean that we will default on our current loans? If so, what does that mean? Does it mean that millions of social security checks will not go out? I doubt it because old people vote and no state or local representative can get elected without the votes of old people. Does it mean the wars are over? I don't know, but probably not because someone has to get elected in 2012 and if we pull out of the war, it will be spun that democrats are week and unable to manage a time of war. Does it mean the Chinese will move into Camp David and the US government will charge them an agreed upon rental amount? Probably not because it'll take 3 branches of government 25 years to agree on how much to charge and by that time China will have bought America and turned it into their cornhole court. So, where are we in the eyes of the government? I don't know. In order to get a better perspective on this situation, I emailed Congressman Larry Kissell this morning (my representative for the 8th district of North Carolina; THE FIGHTING 8TH!). I have not yet received a response, but it's still early. I'll comment on what I hear back when I hear back. The media continues to doom and gloom us into thinking the country sucks and we have to watch the news in order to survive. Heaven forbid we change the channel and Nike and Miller Lite won't buy advertising time. Michael Jordan needs to sell those shoes man. For a perfect example I just heard this statement on a news program I watch every morning, "Washington can't agree on a deal. But maybe they will. We'll be right back to discuss it more." What? Then to 3 minutes of commercials about violent films, beer, shoes and carpet replacement companies. Is anyone as outraged about this situation as I am? Or do you have more sense than I do and ignore the news and go about your life? I'm pretty sure that regardless of the debt ceiling situation, I'll still have to go to work on August 3rd.