not a chia pet

Not to beat a dead horse here, but - a few more examples of what I consider nuttiness.

Not a great picture - but this is
 the lightweight, lightly lined
 windbreaker that
Carter wore all winter.
 Another way to tell it isn't a
winter coat - he is wearing
 it in April in this picture. 
No hoodie under it.  

Chicago winters are cold.  Geraldine buys used clothing for her boys.  A practice I am not opposed to - just not shoes.  She also is a happy recipient of hand me downs from her sister's son.  I was always very grateful for hand me downs.  What's better?

So, riddle me this . . . why did Carter not wear a true winter coat ONCE the entire winter this past year?  He was 2 1/2.  He wasn't bundled up in those handy car seat cover things.  He has an older brother.  He has an older cousin.  Where oh where were the winter coats that should have been available to him?

Geraldine dressed him in a wind breaker with a little white cotton lining.  I know there are amazing new-age winter coats that are made of thinsulate, etc.  Those things always baffle me.  Can a coat really be warm if it isn't puffy?  What can I say, I grew up in the 80's.  At any rate, Carter's coat was not new-age.  It was literally a windbreaker.  Not intended to be worn in below zero weather.

I was scolded by a man at Walmart once because he thought Carter was my kid and I had dressed him improperly for the weather.  I didn't disagree with him.  Uncool.


Carter wore a hoodie most days - as part of his wardrobe.  An undershirt.  A hoodie.  A windbreaker.  My kids often wear sweatshirts or sweaters in the winter.  I don't count that as part of their outerwear.  They are still bundled up in a winter coat, because last time I checked:  we live in Chicago.

On an unseasonably warm day in January, I took the kiddos to the zoo.  It was barely drizzling.  The air was misting - a bit.  It was awesome because it should have been so cold.  I couldn't pass up a trip to the zoo.  We walked around outside.  I posted photos as usual to the group page so the moms and dads I sit for can see us out having fun.

When she picked up later that day, Geraldine said, 'Well we better put your hood on.  We don't want you to get your hair wet.'  Maybe I read too much into it, but it seemed like an odd thing to say.  It seemed passive aggressive.  It wasn't like a downpour, and have I mentioned the warm temperatures?

It was like 60 degrees out.  She was concerned that their hair might get wet while taking 6 steps to get to her car.  WHY???  Carter regularly wanders the Chicago-land area in nothing but a windbreaker on a crazy-ass cold day, but on a balmy day in January she doesn't want his hair to get damp (it couldn't even achieve wet status, because it was barely MISTING OUT).  I was at a loss.

Pardon the grossness.  I believe
strongly that parents should still take care
of their kids basic needs like bathing
and blowing their noses BEFORE
dropping them at my house.

Maybe she thought they would catch a cold.  That is an inside joke that you won't get until I explain that her kids would have horrid colds and they would go on for weeks.  No doctor appointment.  No nothing.

For real - she handed me this
 bag of chia seeds.  I know there
 are kids who are worse off, but a mom
who doesn't bathe her kids (and has
 the resources to do so) or take
her kid to the doctor or dress
them for the weather is a sucky mom. 

She didn't bother to blow their noses before they arrived at my house in the morning during these weeks-long colds.  You know how a stuffed up nose drains in the morning.  Hey, if those kids have time to watch cartoons all morning, then take a moment to parent them and BLOW THEIR DAMN NOSES!  They would sit down to eat breakfast and sneeze and voila 6 inches of snot would hang off of their faces.  If I had a kid with a cold that went on for more than 10 days without noticeable improvement, I took them to the doctor.


I once told Geraldine that I thought it was time that Theo have his constant runny poop/diarrhea checked by a doctor.  He still had accidents because it happened so fast, or he would have to make frequent visits to the bathroom.  Months went by.  One day she showed up with a zip loc bag with what looked like dirt in it.  'I listened to a podcast about runny poops.  They suggested chia seeds.  We'd like you to sprinkle these on his food at breakfast and lunch.  We are hoping it helps bulk up his stool.'  Again.  At a loss.

Credit to Amazon for the photo of the Chia Pet.

This isn't a chia pet. 
 This is your kid.