Tag Archives: unemployment

Potty Training – The Saga Begins

Posted on September 3, 2012 by funnygurl2

My son, M, is now 21 months old. I have started to try to potty train him. So far, I have been highly unsuccessful.

He has his own little potty. He loves to take it apart (no surprise, see post Like Father, Like Son). I tried making him stay seated on it while I read him stories. I found when he got up off the potty is when he would actually pee-pee. In the corner, or next to the potty. Anywhere but in the potty.

Now M doesn’t want to sit on it. He wants to wander around the bathroom with no diaper on or sit on my lap (must be more comfy than the potty). While his baby butt is adorable, we really aren’t getting any closer to getting this done.

I have a theory. And since this is my first child and I have only potty-trained (i.e. housebroken) my Lab-Chow mix Dave, it really is just a random theory. I believe that to potty train a kid, they have to be old enough to understand what you are trying to accomplish. But I also believe you have to train them before they are old enough to decide not to do what you are asking of them, just to spite you. From the stories my mom tells, she makes it sound like I was the latter.

Plus, everyone says it is easier to potty train when you are at home to devote time to it. I am definitely at home with time right now. And fearing my unemployment will run out at the end of the year, I need to get him trained before I have to return to work. And I could wait longer to go to work if I didn’t have to spend money on diapers.

I feel like if I could get over this child development hurdle, it would be smooth sailing from here on out. Because I am a first time parent and I am just that naive. I haven’t gotten within spitting distance of the terrible twos or terrible threes yet. But the two things that worried me most before I ever got pregnant were changing diapers and potty-training. Hmmm. I sense a theme here.

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Thank You – November 2011

Posted on November 16, 2011 by funnygurl2

Thank you for my healthy family. Thank you for my warm and dry house. Thank you for two cars that run. Thank you for the red Jeep Wrangler hardtop I will own someday. Thank you for unemployment checks. Thank you for my husband finding a job he is excited about. Thank you for the human body having two kidneys. I am thankful that my frustration over the disorganization of the medical industry distracts me from my son’s health issue. I am thankful my husband has a 401k that we can dip into. I am thankful for warm fall days. I am thankful I have this blog as an outlet for my feelings and creativity. I am thankful for Strawberry Yogurt Cheerios. I am thankful for baby naps. I am thankful my son is almost one. I am thankful for my family and friends that listen to me vent during difficult times. I am thankful for sunshine and windows. I am thankful I am not sitting behind gray cube walls. I am thankful for wagging tails. I am thankful for all the clothes and toys that have been handed down to my son. I am thankful for diaper pail deodorizers. I am thankful for Tide Free. I am thankful for first train rides and first hockey games. I am thankful that my asbestos friend moved back to Michigan. I am thankful that I have so much to be thankful for.

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An Epiphany

Posted on August 15, 2011 by funnygurl2

I had an epiphany the other day. Unemployment is the new retirement.* Think about it. Ponder the deepness of my thought.

Now, past generations had pensions from their companies to provide them income in their retirement years. Gone. Social Security was always standby monetary security (it is in the name, afterall). Social Security will be gone sooner, rather than later. 401ks are a good idea, if your employer puts in contributions (mine stopped several years ago) and the stock market doesn’t take any giant nosedives. Oh, right.

So, from the unscientific examples above, you will see that people will have to continue working longer. This will cause them to miss out on those “Golden Years”, of providing free daycare to their grandkids, going on casino trips, and spending winters in warmer climates.

But, think about it. Retirement was at the end of your life! You had to WORK for 65 years (or 66, or 67,…) to get there. I don’t know about you, but 8 hours a day seems like a long time to me, let alone 8 x 5 x 52 x 65! And you could be in bad shape physically or mentally by then, and not be able to enjoy retirement. Or, the worse, YOU COULD BE DEAD BY THEN!

Now, think about this. In this economy, it seems as though everyone gets a year (or more!) to be unemployed. Hopefully congress keeps passing bills to keep the unemployment beneftis coming as well (fingers-crossed). This has become my current state of affairs. And I swear I am truthfully doing a dilligent job hunt. But I am also going to enjoy my time off. While I am young. While I am healthy. While I can watch my son master the art of crawling and buy him cute things at garage sales. I want to reconnect with my husband again. I want to shop at Ikea with my asbestos friend. I want to take a breath. I was at my last job for 12 years. In another 12 years I will be 47. Whoa. See, I need to take a breath.

I realize I should be worried. But I just am not. I had little control over my company liquidating and laying me off. While I look for my dream job or my next job to pay the bills, I am going to enjoy a little of my retirement now.

*NOTE: funnygurl2 is not a moneyologist and you should always make all money and life decisions for yourself.

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Walking Around Like Ghosts

Posted on May 10, 2011 by funnygurl2

The company I work for is in bankruptcy. From my point of view, things do not look good. More employees are leaving every week. Those of us still in the building walk about like ghosts & swap names of companies to send applications to. Both current & former employees reach out to each other on Linkedin. It feels to me as if we are reaching out to each other in a blackened cold sea, and each of us is a life preserver for the other. In the end, a large number of connections probably won’t bring all of us new employment. But it feels like a good first step to facing the reality that we will all need new employment soon.

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