Netflix, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

I think Netflix has it out for me.
Actually, I feel like they want to see how far they can push their customer base repeatedly until they no longer have one.  They seem to love pissing off the masses.
Today, they succeeded with me.
A while back, when they switched all heir pricing plans, and lost tons of customers, people were pissed.  They decided that streaming and DVDs would be separate services, and cost much more individually than they had together.  OK.  Fine.  We didn't stream.  It totally sucked to lose that value, though.
THen, a few months ago, we were actually able to get a free trial of the streaming, and come to find out, we loved it.  They had all kinds of things my kids both would watch, and were actually allowed to.  In addition, they had Dora the Explorer on tap, and let me assure you, if you have ever parented a young toddler, Dora and Diego can be your best friends when you are at your wits end.  So, needless to day, we stuck with it.
I don't even bother turning on the Cable box about half the time anymore.  We just pull up Netflix, and turn it on Dora int he morning while I fix breakfast so that The Littlest One can get her fix, and I can actually get breakfast fixed.
We have loved it.  I have felt the service was well worth the extra money for streaming.
We did consider the new RedBox streaming service that is currently in Beta.  It is cheaper than Netflix.  You also get Redbox rentals which means current movies.  That meant there was way more value there since we pay separately for actual DVDs from Netflix.  However, RedBox doesn't have the Nickelodeon shows we love.  So, we stuck to Netflix even though there was a cost difference.
Then, today, they lay the whammy down.  No more Nick tunes.
Netflix decided not to renew a TON of stuff for their streaming.
Gone.
All gone.
My baby is devastated.
I am devastated.
No more Dora while I fix dinner.
No more Dora when I am about ot pull out my hair.
Now, I have to get out the DVDs, turn on the DVD player..etc, etc, etc.  HASSLE.
I feel like they took back that little piece of sanity I had been paying them for.
So, I think I'm done.
With the whole thing.
They are now only slightly better than RedBox streaming, and only because of the ease of the devices.  Redbox is still in it's infancy, and hasn't caught up to all the things Netflix can use.  That's ok.  I will make it work while they keep adding devices.
Now, I will get to choose Redbox movies a couple of times a month, instead of constantly missing the mail lady and never returning my Netflix movies when I want to.
Yes, I see a major switch happening, and I hope lots of people follow.
Netflix has consistently shown that they don't care about their customers, because they were the only real game in town.
No more.
Red Box, get ready for some new subscriptions. I'm starting my free trial ASAP.

My Coffee Just Got Better

As long as I am coming clean on addictions, my crock pot and scrap booking, I should admit that I have a serious caffeine addiction.  This one really is a real, physical and psychological addiction.  I need caffeine.  I crave it.
I drink Coke Zero like there going to quit making it, which they better not because I would have to learn to like diet Coke, and that is a yuck.  As much as I love Coke Zero, I love, love, and love, coffee.

Normally, I don't care about this addiction.  I really don't.  In fact, the addiction often helps me make it though the day, and I could care less about the negative health aspects of consuming so much caffeine. Unfortunately, right now isn't normal.  The problem I have with both of these addictions right now is that, of course, I am pregnant, and that means I really do need to limit my caffeine intake some what.
So, right now, I get one, very small, cup of coffee a day.  It is 8 ounces.  I know because I use the Starbucks VIA which takes 8 ounces of water exactly.  I love that cup.  I savor it.  I don't rush though it.  It usually takes me an hour to drink it.  Really.  The first sip is like a little bit of heaven and sanity coming at me all at once.  I turn on the TV for what ever children are in the house, and insist they watch it for at least 10 minutes while I start my cup.  Once I've gotten a few sips in, then they can return to the screaming banshees that normally run my house.
Obviously, I love that cup of coffee.
Today, though, I have to tell you it just got better.  Really.  I swear.
I drink my coffee with creamer.  I prefer some kind of vanilla or caramel flavor, and I usually buy what is on sale.  However, the one thing I don't like is that those creamers are made of oil.  Once, I ran out of creamer and tried to mix a little milk in.  It was terrible!  They can't be mixed into a drink, and sort of separated.  I had to actually throw good coffee away.  That grosses me out a little.  I tried fat free milk and syrup, but that just didn't quite get it right.  So, I stick with the artificial creamers.
Until now.
International Delight came out with a new line of Coffee House Inspirations make with real cream and milk.  I had to try.  Today, I actually indulged in a bottle sans coupon.  That must be chalked up to a pregnancy craving, because I always use coupons for creamer.  I just had to have it, though.
As soon as I opened it, I could tell the difference.  It looks different.  Is smells different.  Actually, is smells like really good icing.  That alone made me nuts.  I almost couldn't wait for my water to boil to make the coffee. The flavor didn't disappoint, either.  That stuff is fantastic.  Really.  I swear.  Probably the best coffee creamer for home use ever.  I mean, even Kanye West couldn't come up with another creamer and upstage this one.  Its that good.
If you like creamers, and don't really care about the calories, try it.  I'm pretty sure you will love it.  Though maybe not as much as a crazy pregnant woman who only gets one cup a day.

Desperatly Seeking Tortillas

Some days, you wake up, and you just know that it isn't going to be the best day of your life.

Today is one of those days.

We all started the day off a little grouchy and very tired thanks to the little one's giant leap into being a big girl; the giving up of the pa. No one slept. No one. Even when I did finally get her to sleep without the flipping and flopping, where we were finally resting, my husband decided to call at 4:49am. Granted, he didn't know it was 4:49am. In fact, the moment he heard my voice, he ask what time it was. Bless his sweet and loving heart, he walked by the phones on ship, saw that no one was using them, and decided to call us. It never occurred to him that there may be a reason no one else was calling, but that is ok. He saw a chance to call, and he seized it. I can't fault him for it.
On top of all that, the wind was making some crazy humming noise through our housing complex last night. It scared the crap out of the big one, and she wouldn't sleep any where, or at least try to sleep anywhere, other than my room.
So, really, there was no sleeping in our house.

Lack of sleep takes a quick toll on me. I don't function well this way. As evidenced by the fact that I have now spent the last hour searching for my tortillas.

The little one and I had to venture out for some things this morning. We had to. I was out of coffee creamer. We needed to go. So, we hit Wal-Mart, where we still didn't buy any pacifiers. She did ask, but I told her no, and she accepted it pretty well. So, anyway, of course Wal-Mart doesn't have any coffee creamer I will use. Next door to it is a Vons. I don't normally shop at Vons. I think they are too expensive for most things. However, Vons also happens to have a Starbucks located inside. Lack of sleep and lack of creamer means that any Starbucks in close proximity is a must do.

So, we head over, and I am able to get a couple of things that I need, and things that are hard to get at my normal grocery shopping locations. One of those items was a pack a carb balance tortillas. I love tortillas, and the kind that I buy, though hard to find, taste really good especially considering how much fiber they are loaded with! They were pretty expensive compared to what I would normally pay, but since they were actually available, I snagged them. I was totally stoked about them. I have been dying for a breakfast burrito, and have had no tortillas for a while.

I know I got them in the bag. I know I carried them to the car. However, once I went to get them to put out with supper, they were no where to be found. No where, I tell you. I have checked everywhere. I looked in the oven, microwave, fridge, and even the freezer just to be sure. No where.

So, we have at this point just a few options.
1. They are laying in my car and I didn't carry them in. I will find them when I go out next.
I have to say this option isn't likely since I laid the bags next to Ava. If I left food in the car, she would tell me, trust me.
2. Ava grabbed them and carried them off while I was doing other things. Possible, definitely possible. If this is the case, they will likely be no good by the time I find them. She is that good.
3. I put them someplace ridiculous and will eventually stumble on them when I have had more sleep, and absolutely no need for them what so ever. I am going to guess that this is the most likely. Since I already checked all the nutty spots I might put things if I weren't paying attention, I have a feeling that when I find them, where ever they are is going to amaze me.

I really do need sleep. I can only hope the little one does better tonight. WE all need her to. I hope that she is a quick learner, and can figure out how to sooth herself to sleep very soon. If not, I may let them have my bed, while I go sleep in one of theirs. I can't afford to keep losing expensive tortillas.

The End of A Pa-Era

Well, hopefully, this is the end.

The Little Onehas a well established pa-habit. Recently, she starting biting through the nipples. I realize that is a sign they probably need to go, but I am not about to push it. The child need her safety binkie right now, and I had no intentions of taking that away.

Instead, I have been constantly telling her, warning her really, that if she bit through them, they went into the trash. I told her that once they were all gone, that would be it. My intentions were of course not the same as my words. As I said, I have no desire to push this issue at the present time. I plainly intended to sneak a new pack into our shopping cart the next time we were at Wal-Mart. We are, in fact, as least 3 days really past due for that shopping trip. We are all sick, and San Diego happens to actually be in the midst of long lasting rain front. So, we haven't gone anywhere. No new pacifiers (pas).

Over the last 2 weeks or so, we have thrown away at least 4 pas. I watched as our supply was dwindling, not worried as I new we needed to go out soon, anyway. Saturday, when I had the new baby sitter over, I remembered to show her the stash in a cubbard, and told her to break into it as needed. Well, the little one was a little wild that night, and by the time I got home, we were on the last one!! We didn't go out yesterday, or today. I thought we could make it until tomorrow.

Don't bite, I kept reminding her. Hoping that she could just make it with out destroying this one.

Shortly after she woke up from her nap today, she ask me to wash her pa. When I took it, I saw she had bitten into it and torn it already.

"Oh no. You bit it. Momma has to throw it away."

She reached over and very gently took the pa back. She looked at it for a second, then put it in her mouth.

"No. No trash pa." She said around it.

"Yes. You know that if you bite them, they have to go in the trash. They aren't safe anymore."

"No good?"

"No."

"Trash?"

"Yes. Trash."

She looked up at me with those big round eyes, very solemn and sad. She walked over to the trash cabinet, opened it, looked at me one more time and ask "Trash?" again.
"Yes. Trash." I told her. I was never mean about it, just sort of sad myself.
She dropped it in.

"New one?"

"No. We don't have any new ones. All the new ones are at the store, and we aren't going to the store."

"Go." She walked quickly over to the shoe basket and started to put her shoes on.

"No, Ava. We aren't going to the store. No new ones."

She didn't say anything. She just sort of looked at me with this resigned look, then walked out to the living room. There were several times today where she went to go get her jacket, and ask for a new one. I just repeated the same answer very gently all day.

"No new ones."

She whined for it just a couple of times, but then after I reminded her they were gone, she remember she threw it away, and she would move on.

So, now it is bed time. I have her laying down. I gave her a cup of water. I know, it isn't good to replace one bad habit with another, but I am not looking for a fight. If not, I'll be up all night looking for one. I know I am in for a few days of less sleep, but in all honesty, it won't be that different than any other night for me of late.
I feel bad for her. I didn't want to take her security object away until her Daddy came back, but I guess she is ready. My baby is becoming a big girl.

I hope you sleep well tonight big girl. You can still bunk with me for a while, at least.

Our Little Paddict

My husband and I did a bad thing today, but we couldn't help ourselves.

We fed an addiction.

A pa addiction to be more precise.

Pa is what my youngest, and everyone else in the house, calls her pacifier. She is an addict. She is in the throes of a real, and hard core addiction. It is scary.

Today, she lost the last pa we had. She lost it on the way home from picking up our oldest daughter from school. We walk everyday. So, somewhere out there, between our home and the school, lies a little green pa with tons of teeth marks, and probably tons more germs.

We should have let hat be that, and ended it there and now cold turkey. We aren't strong enough, though.

She is 19 months old, and it is high time that she gave that thing up. The problem is, though, that we aren't committed to working through the addiction at this point. There would be several withdrawal symptoms. Those would lead to a sever withdrawal of the amount of sleep that my husband and I get, and we just aren't completely committed to that.

We are also stuck in a very difficult position. My husband is preparing to deploy for an extended period of time. We can either force her to give up the pa now, when she really isn't ready, and deal with the long hard struggle in the short amount of time that he has left, or we can allow her to have it, and wait it out until her gets back. The second option would leave her with the pa until she was 2 and 1/2 at least. That isn't really something we believe in, but as of right now, it is the choice we are making. The lesser of the two situations, and the one we feel we can deal with better.

I know, I know. We should just do it, but we just can't. On top of all the stress it would bring right now, she is probably our last baby. It hurts my heart to force her to grow up faster than she is ready to do.

So, for now, we feed the addiction. My husband ran frantically to the store to get a new pack of pas for us. As soon as she saw them, she squealed with delight. "Blue Pa!" She said. So, now, she walks around with a fresh new and much less germy blue pa hanging from her mouth. I know it isn't great, but at least it is quiet around here.