Road Trip 2008 - post 1

Road Trip!!!!

Well, I had all these great aspirations to chronicle all of the details of our road trip while driving this year from our home in Arizona out to visit my family in Pennsylvania. I was all packed up and organized with technology and even prepared with a spare battery for my laptop. I learned though that I had to conserve on the laptop usage while we were driving because it was a lot of work to keep Lucian entertained in the back seat.

It turns out, Nate did all of the driving for the whole trip anyhow. He was much more comfortable plus I don't think he really likes my driving anyhow. I stayed in the back seat the whole way and tried my best to keep Lucian from being uncomfortable in his car seat. It worked out pretty well. I was really proud of myself for how well we coordinated the space in the back of our little Elantra.

There were a few times when he got a little cranky and then that's where the magic of having the laptop came in handy. I was able to whip it out of the bag and pop in a DVD. It worked out well later in the evenings as we drove because there wasn't the sun glare to compete with the LCD screen backlighting. We brought along an extender audio cable to plug in the cassette tape converter so the sound from the laptop could be piped out through the car's stereo speakers. It worked great! It was like having surround sound in the car. We watched several Muppet episodes from Season 1 (thanks to uncle Dan) and Finding Nemo in its entirety!

As Dory says in the movie, "Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim."



Now, just replace swim with drive and that's what we did.

"Just keep driving. Just keep driving. Just keep driving, driving, driving. What do we do? We drive, drive, drive."

We didn't know for sure how long it would take us to travel out since it was our first road trip with a toddler so we didn't really plan on a lot of sight seeing. It turns out we made the trip in 4 whole days. We left on June 1st and arrived at my Dad's place on the 5th. We made a couple of stops along the way, but for the most part it was just drive, pee, change diaper, fuel up, rinse and repeat. We packed food and snacked along the way. That really saved a lot of time. We basically had a really good breakfast each day and then snacked the rest of the time until we reached our destination.

We made our first stop somewhere in New Mexico. I think it was Santa Rosa. We stayed in a budget motel since it was close to midnight local time. Lucian even got his own queen-sized bed! It wasn't the best of places, the bathroom was icky (didn't use it but for the basics), but we couldn't beat thirty-six bucks for 2 beds and free wifi. I didn't get to use it but to quickly download email messages before checkout, but oh well. The guy who checked us in was really nice. He even spotted us at the Denny's having breakfast the next morning and asked if I was able to connect to the wifi ok. I hope we can find it on our way back or at least something like it.

Our goal was to try to drive all the way across Texas in a day. It worked out really well. We had to stop at CarHenge though. It's one of our favorite little places. If you haven't ever been to it, it's a must see why traveling through Amarillo, Texas.







We pushed on and made it all the way to the edge of Oklahoma by midnight, local time where we stayed with Nate's great aunt. She's 87 and adorable. She stayed up and chatted with us till 3 am. Lucian got his very own, adorable little room. We had breakfast in the afternoon (it was breakfast in our minds yet) at a cute little place called Buttered Bunns Cafe. Commerce, OK is such an adorable little town!







Next stop was Rosebud, MO to stay with Nate's second cousin, LaVon. She is such a cool chick. She's over sixty-five and tech savvy! She even has a few websites she tinkers with. The boys went to bed while her and I stayed up and geeked out together till wee hours in the morning. I'm looking forward to doing more of that with her on the way back. Maybe she'll be feeling better for some picture taking next time too. She's one of my favorite MomsGoneGeek.

I'll end this entry here and pick up next time to post about our next stop in Troy, Ohio to visit and stay with a very good friend. That will require some movie editing and more photos. I'm also collecting more as the days go by. Pretty soon I'll implode if I don't do something with all of it!

Stay tuned for more Road Trip adventures of TheMacMommy and family!

Girl Effect

A noun. A verb. Words meet people. People meet actions. Actions make change. Change affects us. Will you be affected? Will you make change happen?

I helped. I shared. I may do more but I will not do less.

Butterfly kisses to you.

Feedback: Some Technology Frustrations

And when I say some, I really mean just a few.

I recently wrote a response to a blog post by PurpleCar and I wanted to share it on my own blog because I would like to keep this conversation rolling. I'd also like to know what you think about this topic. I'm actually planning on meeting Christine in person sometime soon, so this will give us something to gab about. (Not like we need any help though!) ;)

Christine asked what frustrates us about the early adoption of certain technologies. She was posting about the perceived risks of using new technologies like QIK and or other cell phone recordings or any personal recordings for that matter when it comes to meetings with teachers. I thought it was (as with most of her posts) an thought-provoking question that deserves more light on the subject.

Here is my response:

A couple of things frustrate me, so thanks to (Christine Cavalier, a.k.a PurpleCar) for posting this place to put them :)

1.) Keeping up with it all! It's so difficult on a single income. I do my best and try not to complain and be patient when it comes to the free stuff on the web.

2.) Altered expectations. If you always get back to everyone right away, they grow to expect that from you and it can create more problems for yourself in the long run as you take on more and more because you think the technology makes things easier for you. It can be a bit of an illusion at times.

{edit:} [That came off wrong.] What I mean is: keep reasonable expectations reasonable. Of course you should always respond to people right away, as in as soon as possible, not as soon as inhumanely possible. Just because technology enables us to communicate faster, priorities still need to be set when it comes to communication combined with other tasks. I've made mistakes in the past (and probably still will) where I ended up addressing one person's needs and inadvertently ignoring others because I created unrealistic expectations while trying to impress someone that didn't really need to be impressed. I ended up becoming perceived as being "unavailable" and "unapproachable" when that was the opposite of how I wanted to be viewed.

It sucked and I got burnt out quickly because of it.

Burnout sucks and should be avoided at all costs.

3.) Technology as it applies to education: Case in point: my husband, as you know, is a h.s. physics teacher and he has the task of answering emails from parents. Many times this has to be done outside of the "office" since there is just not enough time during "normal working hours" – or whatever that means. Teachers' plates are already so full and the amount of "early adoption" technology without support that gets shoved down their throats on a regular basis is disturbing. (I've seen both sides – married to one side, been tech support on the other side)

{edit} [when it comes to questions asked and email requests] Some of the parents can be really irrational and overly-demanding, but it's better than the parents who are not involved at all. Many times parents & students forget that teachers are also people with lives and families that exist outside of school so the "what's my grade?! Am I passing this class? Why won't you do all the thinking for me?" demands get exhausting.

{will report on the following "weigh-in" later when I find out what he has to say about this}

Hubby is asleep, but I plan on asking him what he would think about parents using the kind of technology you describe. I'm wondering what his answer might be, but I know from previous examples he's given me, I'm sure he, as a teacher, would welcome it and try to facilitate involved parents like yourselves. Too many times, it's the lack of any participation, whether low-tech, high tech or no tech at all; that is a huge problem in this day and age.

I think so far as the privacy issues are concerned though, it is completely up to the parents' discretion. Teachers and Admins are (or are supposed to be) completely transparent for the most part. Nothing to hide. Privacy on the part of the student is mostly provided by the school on the parents' behalf as I understand it, but I'm with you on keeping it private for those kinds of meetings.

So long as the technology does not cause any impediments on the communication from the teacher/admin to the parent(s), i.e., "oh wait, can you repeat that, my stream died. Oh wait, hold on, we lost the connection. Can we go back? Uh, hold on, it's buffering." then, the teacher/admin should feel perfectly comfortable in front of a camera. They are not supposed to ever have anything to hide and are constantly tested on performing in front of anyone as it were. Anyone at any time is allowed to observe a teacher so they are always on their game.

There should not ever exist any kind of sugar-coating on behalf of the teacher and if you detect there is, then there is a problem and it needs to be addressed. That person should be a politician and not a teacher.

PA or Bust!

Here we come!
We leave morning of Sunday, June 1st. Wish us luck!
We're almost done packing. We have yet to figure out what to wear to my brother's wedding. I think I gained any of the weight Nate just lost. I have no idea what fits and I'm scared to find out. Maybe if I put ribbons on my bathrobe and wear nice shoes with it...hmmm.

We got the car serviced and spent the better part of today cleaning it. It was amazing to see the pile of crud on the seat from where the car seat was installed. We moved it to the other side so Nate will have more leg room in the back for when he's back there. His doctor prescribed a non-narcotic pain medicine that he can take and be able to drive with so we're relieved about that. He's now driven a couple of times and he's a little more comfortable than he's been, so that's a good sign.

We're still plotting our route and we're not sure of where we're going to stop first. It will all depend of course on construction, weather, and Lucian's ability to keep content while strapped into the car seat. Poor little dude. I feel so sorry for him. We've packed several things to keep him entertained. We'll see how it goes.

We have a couple of family members and friends to stay with along the way. We have planned stops so far in Commerce, OK, Rosebud, MO, and Troy, OH before our final destination in West Lawn, PA.

I will try to blog about our experiences along the way if I can. I have no idea what kind of internet connection I'll get or when. This is the first time actually traveling this way with a laptop, so it should be interesting.

Well, we gotta get back to finish packing. That's all for now. Stay tuned!

P.S. If anyone has any suggestions about places to stop, good motels, hotels, etc. please leave me a comment. I will try to read them if I get connected. Thanks!

It's Never Too Late for Mother's Day

Mother's Day should be every day!

It's been rough here for the past couple of weeks. The end of the school year is always the worst for Mr. Davis. I wish his kids knew just how much we all have to suffer for it!! So, between his back injury, not being able to drive (yes, I've been driving him to school in the mornings!), mounds of grading and end of the year stuff plus having to take an additional online course for NCLB, Mother's Day was a bit of a wash in the 'special time spent with Hubby and child' department. I have to say though, the man knows how to make up for it. This morning, he made me breakfast in bed and it was awesome! But that wasn't all. He and Lucian made me the coolest e-card! What better way to show how he feels about my abilities for mothering than in web 2.0 style! He said Lucian helped pick out the e-card too. Bonus points for working with the kidlet on the computer while I was sleeping to make me a cool e-card. Extra bonus points for picking something I could share with you on my blog!

Don't send a lame Mother's Day eCard.
Try JibJab Sendables!

I especially like the part where I overcame the Nazis. The best part is at the end where it says EU, Mommy. "EU" in Lucian language means "I love you."

Thanks boys! You're the best! EU!

Wii I Don't Work Out

CityMama is hosting a contest over on her blog and I want to win the prize because I believe working out should be fun and this sure does fit the profile! To enter the contest, she wants you to blog about your most embarrassing workout story of all time. For me, I have a hard time with that because I don't really "work out." I've never signed up for a gym membership. I too, like CityMama, took dance lessons from kindergarten through high school. I also did the Jazzercize thing when I was a kid. (The Mickey Mouse version, anyone?) I still have leg warmers in my lingerie drawer!

Don't ask me why I still keep leg warmers around, I just think they are still cool and maybe they'll make a comeback and then I'll be cool too. Hell, they probably already have but I'm so not hip enough to notice. I used to collect them along with leotards when I took dance lessons. Oh! and those parachute pants! Remember those?! (leotard — sounds like retard which is how I used to look in one.) Also don't ask me why I have said leg warmers in the same drawer as my lingerie. Maybe because I don't wear either? The lingerie drawer is where things go to die I suppose. Maybe I put them there because I was going to use them as lingerie at one point in time? Maybe I had some convoluted plan to seduce my husband by wearing just the leg warmers and nothing else? Maybe I was going to say something like, "Hey baby, wanna get physical?" ala Olivia Newton John-style. Rug-burn prevention? I haven't a clue. Parenting does that to you.

Anyhow, enough about my retarded legwarmers and my lacking need for lingerie. I want to win a Wii Fit because I need to get my sorry ass in shape. But, I can't really think of an extremely embarrassing workout moment. Something a little amusing does comes to mind though, so I'll give this a shot. The best way I can think of to explain it though is in true web 2.o style by embedding a YouTube video that illustrates my experience.

This sort of happened to me once while I was attempting to do some crunches on the floor. My son tried to nurse on me while I was doing it and it cracked me up because I couldn't work out with him pulling up my shirt trying to get at my boob. Watch this video because it's funnier than I can explain it in words. I hope it makes you laugh. More importantly, I hope it wins me a Wii Fit! Maybe I can "get physical" with my husband and put on those sexy leg warmers again!

(Thanks to the brave woman who put this video out there for everyone to chuckle at!)



Note: This video might not embed properly on my blog and you might have to click something special to see it because it contains a booby shot. When I viewed it, it asked me to confirm that I was 18+. Oooooooh, a booby shot! How exciting! We know how controversial functioning boobies are these days, so don't say I didn't tell you so and don't flame me for posting this on my blog either.

Here is the link in case it doesn't embed on my blog: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqZCYCUcfGs


I must have boobs on the brain lately since my son is weaning, so there may be more boob-related posts to come. How many more times can I say the word boob? We shall see!

Good luck to all the other participants in the contest and thanks to CityMama for making it possible.

Wii Fit or Bust!
(pun intended)