Dooce’s entry and got a little annoyed at what assmonkeys people are. And then this past weekend I followed links from this entry of Michelle’s and read this entry and my brain exploded.
Then I said to Fred, “If I ever get pregnant*, I’ll have to immediately take down my journal and get a new email address, because I SO wouldn’t want to have to deal with the shit.” I mean, seriously. I thought I’d gotten some rude-ass emails from idiots who stumble across my diet journal, but I don’t get anything like the emails some of you mothers get, whether you’re into Attachment Parenting or not. Every asshole’s got an opinion, and they’re always more than willing to let you know when they think you’re a fucking idiot.
Lordy.
*No, there are no current plans for Fredbyn offspring. In fact, we’re strongly leaning toward “no”, but haven’t definitely made that decision one way or the other.
* * *
“Hey,” I said to Fred the day after I got back from Hawaii. “You know what they call flip-flops in Hawaii?”
“
Royale with cheese?” he said.
Heh.
(The answer:
Slippahs.)
* * *
Pet store kitty pics from Monday are
here.
* * *
Saturday morning, Fred was about to step into the shower when he realized he hadn’t seen Meester Boogers at all that morning. That’s unusual, because after Fred works out, he comes inside and Meester Boogers is usually sitting there waiting for him. So Fred threw some clothes back on and went searching. After some time, he went out back to see Meester Boogers and Spanky sitting by the fence between the back yard and the part of the yard where the driveway is. They were staring intently at the bottom of the fence, and when Fred went over to check it out, he found a box turtle trying to get into our back yard. So he carried it into the back yard to freak the kitties out:
“What the fuck IS this thing??”
When he left to get groceries, he took the turtle with him, and left him in a section of woods by the nearby middle school, where there’s a stream and lots of bugs – everything a turtle could ever want, in other words. Hopefully the turtle didn’t immediately turn around and head for the road!
* * *
Down the street from us is a house. When we first moved into the neighborhood, this house had a really crappy lawn. The owners didn’t mow very often, and they had a lot of weeds growing in the lawn, and every time we’d drive by the house, Fred would joke that the crappy lawn belonging to this house was “bringing down property values!”
Two years ago, that house was sold to new owners, a retired couple who took a crappy lawn and made it the best looking lawn in the neighborhood. They’re always working in the yard, and every time I drive by and see them out there working in the flower bed, I’m struck with an impulse to stop and thank them for having a lawn that’s such a pleasure to look at. I haven’t yet, but one day I just might.
Trust me – this picture doesn’t even come close to doing it justice.
* * *
“Nyah!”]]>
Oh my GAWD!!!! What a beautiful house your neighbours have!!
please, robyn, tell us how much a house like that sells for these days. I know up here in the north it would cost mega mega mega bucks…. just curious to know the difference…
lara
Thanks for the link to Chez Miscarraige — what a great read, even if it’s about asshats!
You know those folks w/ the kick-ass yard would totally appreciate an out-of-the-blue compliment on something they worked their asses off for. People usually seem to be pretty appreciative of their hard work going recognized.
Unless they’re mean people that suck. 🙂
Lara – I don’t know for sure, but based on the prices of the other houses that have gone up for sale around here, I’d say it probably costs somewhere between $200,000 – $225,000.
I think it’s so rude to offer unsolicited advice to a pregnant woman, or to touch her stomach, or to just come up and start getting into a baby’s face. People can be such jerks. So far, I’ve been lucky to escape such treatment. Whew!
Oh, and your neighbors do have a beautiful yard. From what I can see in the picture, the colors are just stunning.
REALLY.???I’m moving south…. oh my god… up here in that house would go for at least 450,000….
Wow, $225,000 wouldn’t buy a one-bedroom fixer-upper condo where I live. Maybe I need to rethink my love of the Pacific Northwest.
Fredbyn.
Love it.
Wow, a house like that in my area (central Maryland) would cost at least $500,000 (and that’s being a little conservative). Maybe we need to move to Alabama!
See…on the whole people commenting on parenting choices, etc that are posted on blogs…well, ya do put it out there for anyone and everyone to see. Of course not everyone is going to agree with your choices…but if you don’t want to get the comments (pro or con, good or bad) back, then probably better not to go public with it by putting it on the internet, right?
And maybe I was the most go with the flow preggo ever but I honestly, didn’t have a problem with people touching my pregnant belly. Granted, the only “strangers” who ever did it were the cute little Asian ladies (who were certain I was having a girl. I had a boy) who run the lunch shop in my office building and well, I think since it’s not a hostile gesture but instead because people are genuinely happy to see a pregnant belly, I would just let it slide.
I will even admit, upon seeing my friend from Seattle, who I hadn’t seen in years, the very.first.thing.I.did? I touched her pregnant belly! Didn’t ask, just touched!
And I’ve realized that now I have a child, I might as well be fully prepared to have full on conversations with complete strangers everywhere – in the checkout line at Target…while buying cat food at the grocery store…people just want to talk to you when you have a kid! “Oh, he’s adorable, how old is he?” “Oh, I just love that outfit, is he walking yet”. Suddenly, everyone is your friend and everyone wants to talk to you. Fortunately, I’ve never had anyone hassle us and I guess if I did, I would just shrug that off, too.
– Tricia
From above comment:
“See…on the whole people commenting on parenting choices, etc that are posted on blogs…well, ya do put it out there for anyone and everyone to see. Of course not everyone is going to agree with your choices…but if you don’t want to get the comments (pro or con, good or bad) back, then probably better not to go public with it by putting it on the internet, right?”
Ditto. Actually, for ANYONE who writes–in every medium, reporters/columnist/etc.– this is the FIRST lesson you learn. Don’t want criticism? Don’t write and allow the public to read it. 🙂
Whatever happened to “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”?
Not that I don’t occasionally blurt something out, but I do try to keep opinions to myself (the husband is laughing) because not everybody lives the same way.
Oh, see, I thought it was “don’t have anything nice to say, then grab a seat next to me, sweetie!”.
🙂
I just bought a fixer upper house and the neighbor came by and said well maybe this place will start looking good now. I wanted to say buddy, your house is the worst on the block, go over and fix some shit. HEE I forgot how fun neighbors are!
“See…on the whole people commenting on parenting choices, etc that are posted on blogs…well, ya do put it out there for anyone and everyone to see. Of course not everyone is going to agree with your choices…but if you don’t want to get the comments (pro or con, good or bad) back, then probably better not to go public with it by putting it on the internet, right?”
Well, sure. Which is why I said the instant I found out I was pregnant I’d rip down all my sites and change my email address. Because I’m not up for the bullshit parenting blogs seem to attract.
Though to be honest, what I’d be more likely to do is take the comment option down and remove all links to my email address. 🙂
I meant to add to that comment above that I could never bring myself to take down the journal when there would be THOUSANDS of baby pictures to share. “Look, little Fred Jr. barfed! Look! He made a poopy diaper! Awwww, look at the poo, look!”
Y’all think I’m crazy with that cat pics, but you have noooooo idea. Heh.
Even if that house were out in the far reaches of the suburbs of Vancouver, it would be over a million. Were it on the West Side (which is where I live) and in a part of the West Side that actually has lawns that size, it would be more like $3-7 million, depending on where it was and how big the lawn was.
You really should stop and thank them for the yard. I know that last year I loved it when people would leave us notes or stop and tell us how great things looked. Of course, it hasn’t happened this year with John gone, and at this point I am just happy that I haven’t killed the entire lawn.
I’m looking forward to gardening in Alabama. Now to find a way to build a screened-in back porch…
I just had a baby 5 weeks ago — my first child. There are definitely some people out there who are SCARY-judgemental. Breastfeeding vs. bottle-feeding and where the child sleeps (co-sleeping vs. crib-sleeping) seem to be two hot topics.
It’s sad, because with your first child you’re second-guessing yourself enough, AND totally sleep-deprived to boot. Not a great mental state in which to deal with criticism and unsolicited advice.
Being an “older” mother (35) and having a fairly strong personality has helped me to stand up to people when they comment on my parenting choices.
There is this older couple who live on a pretty well-traveled street here in town and their lawn and flower beds are immaculate. The husband is always outside tending them and they water religiously, etc. The shit of the whole situation is that the block they live on–every other house on that side is abandoned and falling apart so theirs is not only the only decent looking house, it’s a beautiful oasis of a yard surrounded by utter crap. Every time I drive by I feel horrible for them, being surrounded by that.
Good for you for defending Dooce. I adore her blog and she obviously loves her baby girl dearly.
You should mention it to your neighbor, the fab grass he is growing. I know it makes my day when people comment on the gardens in my front yard. Labor of love and if others enjoy it too? Bonus!
Beautiful house he has BTW, yours is similar no? With the brick work. Very rare in these parts. (BC Canada, not far out of Vancouver)