jen24's Blog

Its really no secret many people have issues with police officers.

On Sunday i witnessed a high speed chase that ended in a crash on 27th and Ruby (north side by Teutonia).

Apparently the van was stolen and the cops tried to pull him over which obvviously didn't happen (thus causing  the high speed chase).  I realize the vans driver not stopping is the ultimate CAUSE of the crash, but is there an alternative to a high speed chase in a residenatial area????

The van ended up in the front yard of a house on a beautiful Sunday afternoon!  Thank GOD there were no kids playing in the front yard like on the yards of the other houses on the block!  How tragic would that have been!?!!?!

Being the curious person that I am I did wander down to the site of the crash and was welcomed wth hatred and racist remarks because of the color of my skin!  I cannot control the fact that I am WHITE.  I cannot control the color of the vans driver or the cops (some of whom who were causcausian, hispanic and african american) YET...despite the diversity of the police, all I heard was "F that honkey...man trying to take us down".  Most of the anger seemed to come from people upset that the police would do a high speed chase in a residential area.

I understand the anger towareds a high spped chase in a residential area....it made me angry!  But why the heck bring race in it?????

The fact of the matter is that the van was stolen!  the police simply didn't know if this driver had commited any other crime and in an attempt to perhaps protect the community decided a chase was necessary!  But my question is....was that the ONLY and ONLY way to solve this?  Could the driver of the van been stopped any other way than a crash in the front yard of a house in a residential area!!?!?!?!

 [the van rolled over THREE times and one person from the van actually got out to run away which created another pursuit in the area...but he was obviously caught]

 

A friend of mine sent this to me and I thought it was cute...

 If you have raised kids (or been one), and gone through the pet syndrome,
 including toilet flush burials for dead goldfish, the story below will
 have you laughing out LOUD!

 

 Just after dinner one night, my son came up to tell me there was
 'something wrong' with one of the two lizards he holds prisoner in his room.

 'He's just lying there looking sick,' he told me. 'I'm serious, Dad. Can
 you help?'

 I put my best lizard-healer expression on my face and followed him into
 his bedroom. One of the little lizards was indeed lying on his back, looking
 stressed. I immediately knew what to do.

 'Honey,' I called, 'come look at the lizard!'

 'Oh, my gosh!' my wife exclaimed. 'She's having babies.'

 'What?' my son demanded. 'But their names are Bert and Ernie, Mom!'

 I was equally outraged.

 'Hey, how can that be? I thought we said we didn't want them to
 reproduce,'  I said accusingly to my wife.

 'Well, what do you want me to do, post a sign in their cage?' she
 inquired
 (I think she actually said this sarcastically! )

 'No, but you were supposed to get two boys!' I reminded her, (in my most
 loving, calm, sweet voice, while gritting my teeth).

 'Yeah, Bert and Ernie!' my son agreed.

 'Well, it's just a little hard to tell on some guys, you know,' she
 informed me (Again with the sarcasm!).

 By now the rest of the family had gathered to see what was going on. I
 shrugged, deciding to make the best of it.

 
'Kids, this is going to be a wondrous experience,' I announced. 'We're
 about to witness the miracle of birth.'

 'Oh, gross!' they shrieked.

 'Well, isn't THAT just great? What are we going to do with a litter of
 tiny  little lizard babies?' my wife wanted to know.

 
We peered at the patient. After much struggling, what looked like a tiny
 foot would appear briefly, vanishing a scant second later.

 'We don't appear to be making much progress,' I noted.

 'It's breech,' my wife whispered, horrified.

 'Do something, Dad!' my son urged.

 'Okay, okay.' Squeamishly, I reached in and grabbed the foot when it next
 appeared, giving it a gentle tug. It disappeared. I tried several more
 times with the same results.

 'Should I call 911?' my eldest daughter wanted to know.

 'Maybe they could talk us through the trauma.' (You see a pattern here
 with the females in my house?)

 'Let's get Ernie to the vet,' I said grimly. We drove to the vet with my
 son holding the cage in his lap.

 'Breathe, Ernie, breathe,' he urged.

 'I don't think lizards do Lamaze,' his mother noted to him. (Women can
 be so cruel to their own young. I mean what she does to me is one thing, but
 this boy is of her womb, for God's sake.).

 
The vet took Ernie back to the examining room and peered at the little
 animal through a magnifying glass.

 
'What do you think, Doc, a C-section?' I suggested scientifically.

 'Oh, very interesting, ' he murmured. 'Mr. and Mrs. Cameron, may I speak
 to  you privately for a moment?'

 I gulped, nodding for my son to step outside.

 'Is Ernie going to be okay?' my wife asked.

 'Oh, perfectly,' the vet assured us. 'This lizard is not in labor. In
 fact, that isn't EVER going to happen. Ernie is a boy. You see, Ernie is a
 young male. And occasionally, as they come into maturity, like most male
 species, they um…um…masturbate. Just the way he did, lying on his back.' He blushed, glancing at my wife.

 
We were silent, absorbing this.

 'So, Ernie's just…just…excited,' my wife offered.

 'Exactly,' the vet replied, relieved that we understood.

 More silence. Then my vicious, cruel wife started to giggle. And giggle.
 And then even laugh loudly.

 
'What's so funny?' I demanded, knowing, but not believing that the woman
 I married would commit the upcoming affront to my flawless manliness.

 Tears were now running down her face. 'It's just...that…I'm picturing you
 pulling on its…its…teeny little… ' She gasped for more air to bellow in
 laughter once more.

 
'That's enough,' I warned. We thanked the vet and hurriedly bundled the
 lizard and our son back into the car. He was glad everything was going to
 be okay.

 
'I know Ernie's really thankful for what you did, Dad,' he told me.

 
'Oh, you have NO idea,' my wife agreed, collapsing with laughter.

 Two lizards: $140.

 One cage: $50.

 
Trip to the vet: $30.

 
Memory of your husband pulling on a lizard's winkie:

 Priceless!

 Moral of the story: Pay attention in biology class. Lizards lay eggs!

It has been a weird winter / spring in our house! Everyone has been taking turns with coughs, running noses and fevers.

One day when we were all feeling relatively ok we decided to go out to eat. I'm sitting at the table...laughing at Tre (who at 22 months has given up high chairs alltogether since he was 18 months) so he has been sitting on a normal chair and you can just see his eyes peeking up over the table! Sami is coloring with the crayons the hostess put on the table and Bryan is indulging himself in the bread basket while I sip on my beverage (ok a beer).

Suddenly we hear the kid at the next table scream angrily. The man at the table is annoyed and tries to get mom to hush the child. The mom frantically looks through her big ole bag of tricks (I'm assuming for a snack or toy). WRONG! She busts out with the Tylenol and gives her daughter 2 dropperfuls. Mind you the girl looked to be about a year and a half or two at the most. I thought it was a weird thing to do.

"Here here here...here is your Tylenol" mom said to the girl. "Now be quiet".

I brought it Bryan's attention and said "This is why they're starting to pull meds for infants!". As we were finishing dinner, the little girl started wailing again and mom frantically busts out with 2 more dropperfuls of Tylenol.

Now I AIN'T no doctor, BUT, it is my guess that girl had 3 more dropperfuls than she should have been given.

And it didn't appear that the girl was in any pain whatsoever. But judging by the big grin whenever she got the Tylenol, my guess is that she gets it quite often.

We were in a family restaurant with LOTS of kids. Kids cry. Kids make noise. If you're gonna get frazzled at every little peep "johnny" or "suzie" are gonna make, get your food to go...but please don't load your kids on the drugs because you don't know how to be a parent!

Oh it has been way to long. I'm going through blog withdrawal. Really I haven't had much time or inspiration to write.

So this is really just a rambling blog with many points.

UPDATE on my dad: We have seen MAJOR improvements in his speaking and motor skills since he has been taking OFF of seraquel (sp?). I have no idea WHY he was put on it, but he was sooooo overly medicated. Funny that when i questioned WHY he was on it, he was taken off immediately and has been improving (even with his agitation!!!!). Although he does have to go in for a colonoscopy this week which is going to be super hard for him because of the fasting...and the man loves his food.

TV Musings: Ok, was anyone else out there addicted to Rock of Love 2???? I was! And I am so glad he picked Amber as she was the only decent one on the show. The reunion episode looks to be very heated! ALSO----I am THRILLED Hells Kitchen has started. As a person who loooooves to cook, this show is HILARIOUS! Ramsey's insults mixed in with people who get overwhelmed way to quickly...its a recipe for good entertainment! I have to say that I have watched every season of American Idol with great enthusiasm. This season of American Idol isn't really doing much for me! Its not that I don't think they are talented cause they are, I don't know what it is. None of them really make me want to tune in on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Eh.

What I am looking forward to: Well, the nice weather this week is something we are all looking forward to! It will be nice to get Tre out for a walk to the park. It will be nice to keep the windows open and get some of the fresh air in the apartment. I am also looking forward to Summerfest! As always I will probably be there all day everyday. Its what I do. And those Saz's combo platters are my absolute FAVORITE. I can taste it now. I am also looking forward to catching some Brewer games this season. Last year we only made it to 3 games, so I was kind of bummed. This year I hope to make many more.

Thats really all i have. I just felt like writing. And now, I have lots of blog reading to catch up on!

Have a fabu day!

Last night I had the HONOR (and I am choosing my words CAREFULLY) of seeing one of my favorite musicians perform live at Shank Hall! The one and only *drum roll please* STEVE POLTZ!


Most people know of Steve through his co-written song with Jewel "You Were Meant For Me". But let me tell you, this man is a storyteller like none other I have EVER heard!


I first saw Steve maybe 8 years ago while her performed at Marquette University with Glen Phillips, John Doe amongst others. I was working backstage security when this man came running up to me. He was an awkward looking man wearing this plaid SUIT. He looked me square in the eyes and said "Does this look ok to you?" I laughed and said "Well, its definately something only YOU could pull off". Then he went on stage with his guitar and sang some of the best singer/songwriter songs I have ever heard.


I was hooked.


So needless to say that whenever he comes to the area (which isn't to often) I am there.


Steve does not need a band to back him up. He takes command of the audience from the first word, to the last sigh. Just when you think he is singing a serious song, out comes his witty sarcasm that has everyone laughing. There is never a dull moment when he is on stage.


Perhaps my favorite songs of the night came from his album "One Left Shoe". I used to put this cd on repeat and listen to it all day long. In fact I still do. He currently has two new cd's out with songs such as Rains, and Haters Union which proves that Steve still has the magic touch with his songwriting. Watching him on stage is like watching a standup comedian sing with all the passion in his soul. His songs with make you laugh, reflect and maybe even shed a tear or two.


Performing with him at this show was the Truckee Brothers band. Although normally a 4 piece band, they performed as only a 2 piece band which absolutely worked. I was in awe with the harmonizing of the two singers. In fact they reminded me of Big and Rich, which is a good thing. They backed Steve up on some songs as well. I picked up a cd of theirs and look forward to giving it a few listens.


All in all....I had an amazing time. If you EVER get the chance to see Steve Poltz...DO SO! It is more of a sit down and listen type of show....but one of the most entertaining shows you could ever HEAR and SEE! Steve doesn't need the stage antics that many performers use to entertain a crowd....his words alone do the job.


P.S. (I put a pic of Steve and I up in my pictures....eeeeek!)

A meeting with my Pastor last night really opened my eyes to what being a Christian really means.

 

During the Lenten season my Pastor thinks it is important to go back to the basics of being a Christian.  There will be these mini "reminder" sessions during Lent where members of our congregation will speak on these basics.

 

However!  Why wait!  Pick up the Small Catechism and refresh yourself.  Or better yet, pick up the Large Catechism and be enlightened!

 

The Preface to the Small Catechism written by Dr. Martin Luther is one of the best reads!  He writes "....everyone says that they are Christians, have been baptized, and receive holy Sacraments, even though they cannot even recite the Lord's Prayer or the Creed or the Ten Commandments. They live like dumb brutes and irrational hogs.  Now that the Gospel has come, they have nicely learned to abuse all freedom like experts."

  Luther was prompted to put together The Small Catechism because he discovered that people who called themselves Christians did not know the basics of what being a Christian meant.

 

A good metaphor Pastor brought up (him being a HUGE sports fan!) put it like this.  When an athlete is going through a slump, what do they do?  They go back to the basics of the game!  Spring training for example is a time for baseball players to refresh themselves on the basics of the game.

 

Of course this is all from a Lutheran's point of view.  But regardless of what religion you practice, it is always nice to refresh yourself with the basics, to get back to that understanding of your faith.

 

 

I swear my 8 year old acts more like a 16 year old!  I remember when I was 8....I cared about my dolls, my baseball card collection, THE GREEN SHEET (hey remember those!?!?!?!?) and mismatching my clothes.

 

My 8 year old cares that each hair is in place.  Loves boy bands already and already has the "Stop mom, thats embarassing" look down pat!

 

When we heard The Jonas Brothers would be playing at The Rave, she begged and pleaded because all of her friends were going as well.  Heck even I admit to occasionaly humming a few of their tunes from time to time.  So I told her we would get tickets and we would make a date of it.

 

Well, tickets went on sale and I forgot!!!!!!  The show sold out and I had one very unhappy 8 year old who was HOPING I would somehow make tickets magically appear (cause us moms can do ANYTHING you know!).

 

Well, I couldn't make tickets appear.  So instead I snagged up some tickets to see a play at the Milwaukee Theatre....you know, The Frog and Toad thing.  I didn't tell her, I wanted to surprise her!  I thought I was doing a GOOD thing.   So I told her I had this surprise and she was really excited!  I figured this was a good way to make up for my Jonas Brothers mishap.  As we walked down to the theatre, she paused, looked at the sign, then put her head down!

 

"Well, I know its not the Jonas Brothers, but it'll be fun....I PROMISE!!" I assured her.

 

Well, she was NOT impressed.

 

She sat and watched and was cordial.  So I was happy about that.  But I could tell she was VERY disappointed, no matter how hard she tried to play it off.

 

At school, the other kids were talking about Jonas Brothers, and she got to talk about Frog and Toad! 

 

So when Hannah Montana was announced, I vowed not to screw this up (to put it mildly).  I was lucky enough to get two tickets (Awesome seats at that tooooo) and the best part is that she has ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA!!!!  I plan on surprising her on Christmas.

 

The only criteria:  She has to go with me, her mom.  Hopefully she will not be embarrased  by my horrible singing and wacky dancing because I will bring it.  Oh yeah, I am a closet Hannah fan! 

 

I wonder if they sell foam fingers?  Hmmmmm....I mean that couldn't POSSIBLY embarass her, could it!?!?!

 

YESSSSSS!  One of my FAVORITE local bands!  What a treat to see them on the news (a little odd though, but NICE).  Look them up on MySpace!

I have a whole list of local bands I'd love to see on FOX6 Wakeup.

Some quick ones that come to mind: Freshwater Collins, Old Mil, Trick Pretty, NUNA, Fat Bottom Special, 9MM Solution, The Buggs, Fire on Your Sleeve,  Way To Fall, and oh so many more.  WHO DO YOU WANNA SEE ON WAKEUP??????

Yeah now I'm pumped for the day!

~jen~

Everyday at the exact same time I put Tre down to sleep.  I lay a blanket on our living room floor, close all the blinds and put Kenny Loggins "Return to Pooh Corner" in the cd player.

 

And everyday it takes EXACTLY 15 minutes for him to fall asleep.  The second he hears the cd, he plops down on the blanket and is instantly relaxed.

 

As much as I think the cd is good....it makes ME very sleepy as well.  Needless to say my mornings are more productive than my afternoons.  The cd plays on repeat until he wakes up (about 3 hours). 

 

Thank you Mr. Loggins for helping me get my child to sleep (and me!).

 

Does anyone else have any other cd's that work well at naptime?

 

This weekend Sami received her first Bible from our Church.  I spent a week talking to Sami about The Old and New Testament, the 4 major Gospels and so on.  Then we were to pick out 1 verse to write in her Bible.

 

ONE VERSE from the ENTIRE Bible.  I scanned the Bible thru and thru until I stopped at the book of Psalms.  Psalms has always been one of my favorite books of the Bible simply because it is very uplifting.

 

ANYWAYS, when finding a verse to write in her Bible I really wanted to find one that she could refer to at any point in her life.  When times get hard, something she could find comfort in.

 

Psalm 28: 7 reads as follows:

 

"The Lord is my strength and my

       shield;

in him my heart trusts;

So I am helped, and my heart

      exults,

and with my song I give

      thanks to him."

 

Psalm 28 has always been one of my favorites to read because it is a prayer that has helped me through many personal problems.  I don't know, it was just a special moment to read the verse and hand her the Holy Scriptures....a promise that I made to her at her Baptism.

I enjoy cooking....so its no surprise that I always look forward to the cooking segments on WAKEUP.

This week, Chef Jerry Garcia was on and talked about how you can make a nutrional meal in under 15 minutes that won't break your wallet!  Soooo naturally that really got my interest!

I watched and took notes as he made the lemon pepper seasoned chicken....and the oregano infused rice....and those VEGGIES!

So I sent Bryan to the store with the list of needed items.

First off, the meal was absolutely EASY to put together.

Secondly....it cost just as much if not LESS than actually going out to eat.

And then once everything was cut, it literally took me 15 minutes to make.

Of course---the true test....FAMILY!  I live in a house of picky eaters.  Sami and Bryan won't eat veggies and Tre likes to see how far he can throw his food.  So I wasn't sure what to expect.

Once I put the food on the plates and onto the table, it was a matter of MINUTES and the food diappeared just as quickly as it appeared!  VEGGIES and all!!!!!  Tre LOVED the asparagus....something I never thought of introducing him to.

I have to say it was a success and everybody was happy....especially MOI!

Thanks FOX6 for the cooking segments!

(my only regret is not taking a picture....those colorful veggies were PURE art....tasty tasty art).

Yum yum.

P.S.  If you missed it, you can find the recipe by typing in Chef Jerry Garcia in the search box.

Here I sit.  Wondering what the heck to write.  There is nothing wrong to write about

 

.Ack....well besides the normal "lifey" stuff....but that stuff is daily and tolerable and I'm tired of writing the same ole stuff.

 

BUT, can I just say that I am reading the best book ever for the third  time!?!?!  (Tis true)!

 

I am reading ONE MORE DAY by Mitch Albom.  I am in love with this book.  I could read it in a day,  I'm shushing people because I can't put the dang thing down!

 

In short....the book is about a man who is an alchoholic who tries to kill himself.  Through a "blackout" moment he is vistied by the ghost of his mom.  He gets his "one more day" to spend with her before she passes.  A moment he had always felt really guilty about because he SHOULD have been there, but opted to not to be there. 

 

Ack.  The book is just good.  If you pick it up and read it, I would love to know your thoughts.  I am going on the 3rd time of reading it and still feel the same.

 

Ahem.

 

Well ok...I find this a topic of great interest.  Well to moi at least.

 

A woman taking a 9 hour medical exam requested more breaks so she could express milk for her baby.  Tjhey are only given 1 45 minute break during the entire 9 hour exam. Her request was denied because they are worried about cheating and others asking for special favors in the future. 

 

 (Apparently she has already failed the test once).

 

For starters, I am angry that she was denied the request because as a nursing mom knows, when the tata's get full, the pain can be excruciating (not to mention the major leakage!).  When the tata's get tooooo full, there is a huge risk of engorgement AND infection.

 

I don't feel that asking for a couple extra breaks to express milk for her child was asking to much.  Nursing moms work so hard to build their supply. If they were worried about cheating they could have searcher her beforehand and let no devices such as phones allowed in the room with her.

 

Many people feel she had adequate time to ween her baby.  What gives other people the right to tell her what to feed her child?  In her mind she is only doing what is best for her baby. 

 

Some may even argue that she should have taken the test at a later date.  I agree, if that could be arranged she should have gone that route, but I don't know what the circumstances are surrounding when the test is offered and so on.  The point here is that isn't it her RIGHT to be able to breastfeed her child?  In my opinion expressing milk should warrant the same kind of right.  They go hand in hand.  Again, nursing moms work very hard to build the supply to feed their child and BM has been proven to be healhtier for baby.

 

I know people either agree or don't.  I feel she should have been allowed to express the milk.  And as I am always doing....I have to include a photo that is in no means OFFENSIVE or VULGAR!

 <img src="http://dl7.glitter-graphics.net/pub/273/273257o858
enoneh.jpg">

I don't really know how to begin this blog (I'm outta practice you see).

My dad was living in a nice home in Mequon with 2 caregivers and 3 other residents.  We felt this living situation was ideal for him since being aruond to many people seems to agitate him.  I should mention he has been diagnosed with frontal lobe dementia which bascially means that there is damage to the frontal lobe of his brain which controls impulses.

Things were going well at first.  We were satisfied with the care he was receiving and he seemed happy.  Then one day we noticed a change in my dad.  He seemed withdrawn and didn't really care if we visited him or not.  He was refusing to let the workers shower him and change his depends.  So needless to say I started to visit even more so that I could help with these tasks.  I really didn't mind helping oout as long as the caregivers did the "dirty work" because lord knows I didn't want to be touching my dad in "the region".

During this last month, the workers refused to even try changing his depends and refused him showers and wash-ups.  Basically they just fed him and that was it.  Last week during one of my visits, my dad was soaked with urine through his pants down to his socks.  As soon as I walked in the door the caregiver handed me a washcloth and told me I had better clean him up.

I then reminded her that I was here to HELP them in case he got agitated.  She rolled her eyes and walked away.  Mind you my dad had gotten a pretty nasty yeast infection that required a cream to be applied daily.  This was not being done at all.

So I cleaned up my dad (the worker refused to give me the cream to apply to my dad) and after a brief visit we left without one word from the caregiver.

I called my dads caseworker in tears telling her he needed out ASAP.  He was out that week!

He is now in another place that we do really like and so far my dad seems to love it.  He is more social and even using phrases again.  He is being showered daily and is overall happier.  Granted things aren't PERFECT, and they won't be with frontal lobe damage.

I've written another blog about caregivers and this is yet another example of how people who are caring for our elderly don't give a hoot!  The elderly deserve to be treated with RESPECT!  What happened to my dad angers me in a way people really don't want to anger me.  What scares me the most is that if they were that bad when we were around, what were they like when we WEREN'T around!?!?!?!  I would love to have been a fly on the wall to see what really happened.

We did report this place to Milwaukee County Health Division.  But this kind of care is uncalled for and I feel badly for the elderly who have to fend for themselves against workers such as these.

I feel blessed to have my dad in his new place where the workers actually CARE and are working with us.  They actually have GOALS for my dad.  Its just such a difference!  Like night and day.

 

I have been sooooooo busy that I have not been able to read up on the blogs!  I miss the blogs.

This week has been especially hectic.  I have been coordinating a lunch program at a local inner city church for their youth day program.  That has been absolutely consuming my days!  Even though it has been absolute insanity at its finest, I would not change my week one bit!  Being able to provide a balanced meal to some inner city youth has been one of the most rewarding experiences ever!  Having Sami and Tre with me during this has been challenging, but hopefully Sami is taking something very valuable from this experience.

Last week Friday I escaped during the evening to chill out and relax!

If you have NEVER been to MOCT (pronounced MOST) you MUST gooooo!

Its located in the Walkers Point area about 6th and Pittsburg....but let me tell you!  They make the most AMAZING drinks my mouth has ever tasted!  Not only that, the atmosphere was awesome.

I was out and about with my sister last Friday and MOCT came suggested.  Best damn Mojitos ever.  Is that how you spell it?!?!

Hey, if FOX 6 wants to have a blogapalooza at this place, it would rawk man!  I'm telling you!  They have a nice upstairs area and a DJ always playing music.

I'm still gushing about it a week later. 

Anways, I hope all your summers are going well!!!!  Mine is busy, but going.

For sure.