I Wrote That

my son is a picky eater. not like, he does-not-like-peas-picky. it’s more like he does-not-like-anything-picky. and it’s not just a new thing either. it’s not a phase or something that will pass. as an infant he drank formula fine. as i began introducing solid foods to him, he just wouldn’t eat them. he would try some fruit but that was it. everything else (cereal, vegetables, etc) would cause him to gag. so i put off starting him on solid foods and we went back to just the bobby (bottle). then he was off formula and on regular milk. it was still very difficult to get him to eat anything. little things here and there but never a full meal. but his love of the bobby continued. he would eat apples. but not all apples. if they were too tart…nope. if they were too soft…not gonna eat it. they had to be just right and so. this was how it continued. and where i might have gone wrong. i look back and think that maybe if i had pushed the baby foods more and the bobby less then things would have been different. but then i think that it really wouldn’t have mattered. when we go to people’s houses i tell them not to worry about him eating. if he likes it he’ll eat it. if not, don’t worry. it’s the story of my life. he will make comments about a food/restaurant being gross and i will be quick to tell him that he has no real authority to base this decision on since he doesn’t eat anything. seriously, limited is not even the right word.

i tell people that he actually eats quite a lot of foods but they have to be JUST RIGHT. he loves macaroni & cheese but it has to be KRAFT, he likes frozen waffles but it has to eggos, he likes syrup but it has to be log cabin, he likes powerade (not gatorade) but it has to be red/fruit punch, he likes apples but (see above), he likes pizza but it has to be this kind of pizza with this crust with this topping which he’s gonna most like pull off anyway, he likes pasta but it has to be spaghetti and it has to be only certain marinara sauces, he likes bread but it has to have a certain taste & texture, he likes chicken but it has to be flavored a certain way, he likes ribs but if the sauce is not just how he likes it then no. if anything veers off from how he likes it then forget it. he’s not going to eat it no matter how hungry he is. he’s not going to try it no matter how much you cajole and threaten. i often offer him $50 to just take a bite of something. i know my money is safe because he would never ever ever never ever try it. i know this.

we eat out quite often too. and he will ask me what i want to eat and i will just say “you pick. you only will eat at a handful of places so just pick and then i will just get something there” but if i were to pick something where i really wanted to go then he wouldn’t eat (which has happened quite often). if it’s fast food then it’s burger king chicken nuggets. and that’s it. no mcdonalds, jack, wendys, etc. only burger king. so if there is no burger king then it’s not happening for fast food. well except kfc which has m&c (his staple). we go to a local chinese food restaurant and he orders plain noodles no veggies no meat. they know us there and they always know what he wants. the mrs. owner will say it with a question in her voice hoping to hear him choose something else. but in the past 7 years he hasn’t. i’m thinking it may never change.

someone once told me that there are people who are “texture eaters” and that the feel & texture in their mouth while they are eating is part of them being picky. and i know caine is like this. when he was little if i were feeding him cereal and i mixed it with fruit, he would balk at the change in texture. or if there were lumps or anything out of the normal or his “normal”.

a good friend of mine was a picky eater growing up. she liked what she liked and she would just eat those same things over and over. i was not a picky eater (except peas…gross) and didn’t really know any picky eaters so she was my only experience with it. but as the years have gone by she has really opened up her food list. i told her the other day that i was going to send him to live with her so that she can teach him to eat other foods. and i asked how do you do that? and she said “give him no other choices”…couldn’t it have been something easier? that makes total sense though. am i enabling him to continue down this uber-picky road? i’m the one that makes sure his foods are bought and stocked in the house. i’m the one that takes him to the places where they offer things he will eat. maybe if i stopped that then he would start eating. i wonder though…how hungry he’d have to be to actually eat a sandwhich or casserole. unfortunately i think he’d have to be pretty damn hungry.

the drywall in the kitchen and other bathroom is being replaced. all morning it has been pounding, cutting, and then pounding some more for good measure. and it’s so loud. it’s burrowed deep into my brain where it will echo forever. pretty dramatic right? well mondays can do that to me.

the most random picture i’ve seen on the internet ever.

al gore now part of the scissor mafia.

funniest thing i’ve read all week…

“I changed clothes — we were half way to the studio before I realized my pants were on backwards.”

a love story that culminates with Will Lietch’s unengagement only hours before his television debut on Win Ben Stein’s Money where he is mocked by jimmy kimmel and annihilated by the smartness that is ben stein.

i know everyone is feeling the squeeze of the always increasing gas prices. we are lucky enough that the prices have been stable for the past few days at the low price of $3.99.

i think the arco across town might even be $3.97. these low prices make it so that we can continue to drive our big suv’s just a little bit longer. at least longer than those in california who are forced to park their huge gas guzzlers and ride public transportation or walk. but most people don’t want to be incovenienced that way, so keep upping the prices big gas companies, you know we’ll pay it!

my path to work has been interrupted both coming and going last week and into this week. i’m sure the sign guys are dreading the heat that is coming. it was 87 degrees this morning at 7:30am. yes in the morning. we are supposed to have a cold front move in and the temps should be around 108 tomorrow. lol it’s a cool down!

the last couple of weeks have shown a dramatic rise in page views. search results point to a few pictures and mentions during the april blog everyday thing i did about letters. specifically unicorns, sawyer from lost, and the juggernaut of the movie 13 ghosts. i don’t think all these people are reading very much…just enough to figure out that they aren’t interested in what i wrote about unicorns, sawyer from lost and the juggernaut of movie 13 ghosts.

i didn’t even take one photo this weekend. not one or two or three (but four stones). i guess i’m in a photo funk.

1. Where is your cell phone? sitting next to the computer on the desk
2. Your significant other? missing
3. Your hair? in a pony
4. Your mother? generous
5. Your father? smart
6. Your favorite thing? hmmm that’s hard. maybe my red plastic sandals that i bought a couple years ago but never wear because they hurt my feet.
7. Your dream last night? not last night but the other night i dreamt my boss bought me a new filing cabinet (even though i didn’t ask or need one) and then got his feelings hurt when i didn’t notice it even when he came into my office and asked numerous times “do you see what’s different in here?”
8. Your favorite drink? malibu & many things. and i feel like i like whiskey but then i taste it and it’s not what i think it should taste like
9. Your dream/goal? to be a snowbird
10. The room you’re in? bedroom
11. Your ex? gone
12. Your fear? losing my son
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? traveling nurse
14. Where were you last night? here
15. What you’re not? satisfied
16. Muffins? any kind with a nice sweet streudel topping
17. One of your wish list items? write a movie
18. Where you grew up? shit-kicking little town
19. The last thing you did? sneezed and then gave caine a hard time for not saying “bless you”
20. What are you wearing? shorts/t-shirt
21. Your TV? strange cartoon with a rat and a skunk that caine is watching
22. Your pets? miss sassy sox
23. Your computer? tempermental dell lap top that’s bipolar and manic depressive 
24. Your life? safe
25. Your mood? hungry (is that a mood?)
26. Missing someone? always
27. Your car? not the one i want but the one i could afford
28. Something you’re not wearing? shoes & socks
29. Favorite store? THE walmart–everything at your fingertips or at least within a 1/4 mile stroll.
30. Your summer? hot
31. Like someone? of course, i like everyone. well not everyone. most everyone.
32. Your favorite color? blue
33. When is the last time you laughed? a few minutes ago
34. Last time you cried? i probably cry everyday. not full out scrunched up face cry but tears probably come to my eyes. i’m sensitive, what can i say.

are you kidding me? don’t ask me to research something and then go ahead and look into it yourself. then when i provide you with the results of asked for research you disregard it because you are into whatever you found while researching what you had asked me to research. seriously. that’s just rude.

“The tongue weighs next to nothing. But so few people can hold it!”—Unknown