The MomGate MG1

Alright... I have a lot to blog about from this past week/weekend but for right now I am going to push getting your checkups.


I have needed glasses since... well I don't remember when.  My eyes have been getting worse and worse as the years go by.  However I really dont go to the eyedoctor like I should every year.  I knew I needed a new prescription but something always came up and I missed appointment after appointment.  My mom was recently diagnosed with glaucoma and had surgery.  Luckily the surgery not only fixed her astigmatism, but also improved her vision dramatically.  She can see without her glasses now although she still needs readers. 

So when I went to the doc last week and informed him of my mother's glaucoma he decided to do a full workup.  Granted it had been 2 years since my last appointment so he probably would have done a glaucoma screening ANYWAY.  So I am sitting there with my pupils all dilated.. the doc is just staring into my left eye for close to 15 minutes.  By now I am started to get a little antsy, and concerned.

So it turns out I have a macular hole in my left eye.  Doesnt seem to be TOO serious as I dont have any other symptoms of it, but I was referred to an Opthamologist to monitor it and possibly correct it.  50% of them heal on their own so I can hope I am in that category! 

I *think* I know when it happened... about 3 weeks ago I was driving with the windows down when I had a sudden sharp pain in my left eye, like I got a piece of grit in it.  I pulled over, asked to use the restroom and spent close to 30 minutes splashing cold water in my eye to try and rinse it out.  My eyes hurt just thinking of that experience.  After the pain diminished I had a little blurriness but it went back to my normal.  This may not have been when I caused a macular hole to form or not, but it is the only eye injury I can think of in recent years. 

So the moral of the story is... make sure you get checked out when you are supposed to!  Now to call the other doctors for the rest of my checkups >.>

Well this week has brought about a very interesting article as posted from my Main Tank in WoW Odok.  He posted this article because our 25man has been having some issues with attendance and attitudes and what not.  So I thought I'd share it for the few people who you know, play the game and read my blog.   Don't worry I will get back to the regular 'mommyhood' posting scheduled soon =)

Mind you - this comes from World Of Raids and is in no way shape or form mine!


http://www.worldofraids.com/topic/16293-building-a-better-raid-the-ideal-raider-part-i/

Anyone who has ever raided has, at some point, raided with "that guy." There are a lot of ways for a person to earn that illustrious title: perhaps he or she whines incessantly about losing out on loot, throws a fit and ragequits after a wipe, or just won't stop telling idiotic jokes. We all know the annoying traits that can make a player a real headache, but what are the traits that really make for a superb raider? Imagine that you could recruit any player in the world to your raid. What social and mental characteristics would you place at a premium?

This week, I'll take a look at the social qualities of what, in my opinion, is the ideal raider for any type of cohesive raiding raid guild, even more casual outfits. Next time, I'll tackle the mindset angle.

Solidarity

The ideal raider puts her team before herself. This can manifest itself in a number of ways. It may mean passing on a minor upgrade for another player who needs it more. It may mean agreeing to ride the bench in the name of good raid composition. Bottom line, it just means taking your role as a member of a team seriously. When you sign up to be part of a raid, there is an implicit promise there that you will do everything in your power to ensure that the group succeeds. If your guild takes progression seriously at all, then it is nothing short of a responsibility to work toward that goal with everything you can reasonably muster. It's not necessarily about being hardcore or casual or how many hours you spend playing in a given week. It's about 10 to 25 people investing their time, effort and trust in one another - and you holding up your end.

Consistency

For our purposes here, consistency means that when you sign up for a raid, you show up for it. You treat the raid as a legitimate commitment. A lot of players subscribe to their "Real life always comes first" mantra. That works when you're talking about serious issues, like personal or family illness, significant other aggro, or house fires. When you're blowing off the raid because you decided that you'd rather go out partying, that's a different story. Yes, WoW is just a game, but when you flake out it isn't the game that you're bailing on. It's a bunch of real people who've potentially just had their plans for the evening screwed. People in your real life may make jabs, but the only reason that raiding isn't seen as a legitimate hobby is because players themselves subscribe to that stigma.

Just to be clear, I'm not suggesting that you should become a shut-in or that you should feel compelled to over commit yourself to a raid. All I'm saying is that for the times that you agree to raid, you make the raid a priority.

Maturity

People define maturity in different ways. Some define maturity in terms of how a person carries himself. In the raiding context, maturity is defined by the way a person interacts with his teammates. It's entirely possible for someone to be the "raid clown" and be the most mature and levelheaded person in the group when it's time to get serious. At the same time, it's possible for the guy that never cracks jokes and always talks like he's writing a dissertation (did I just inadvertently describe myself?) to be the most immature.

It's when there's impending drama that a person's maturity is really tested. When it comes to drama, the ideal raider's response is almost always: "We can discuss it after the raid." Nothing good ever comes from mid-raid drama. Best case scenario, a lot of time is wasted. Worst case, someone (or even multiple players) /gquit and the whole night ends up the in ditch. Unfortunately, things like loot can't always be adjudicated at a later time. The best bet for the mature player in that sort of situation is to just let the other guy win, and then take it up with an officer later to make sure it doesn't happen again. A 1% DPS boost or survivability boost just isn't worth wasting everyone's time and stressing the whole raid out. Exceptions need to be made for exceptionally abusive or idiotic players, of course. That's another measure of maturity, though: knowing when to say "Enough is enough" and kicking a problematic player to the curb.

Your Ideal?

That sums up the core social characteristics that I look for in other raiders. Next time, I'll talk about some more game-y qualities that make a good raider. Until then: what social qualities do you look for in a fellow raider? Do you consider a raid group a true team, or just a group of people who happen to share the same vitual space? What's your take on the "real world comes first" mantra? How do you handle mid-raid drama?

So I am happy to say that Gabe rarely has accidents when he comes to his potty habits... unfortunatly the accidents usually happen when we dont understand his cues, or if we are too busy to pay attention when he starts whining 'Poooooootttttyyyyyy'  That happened last Sunday - poor kid even came inside, put the seat on the toilet and tried to get his daddy or his grandpa to help him.  Ahh well... the real problem comes with poop.  He just will NOT poop on the potty.  We still put him in a pullup for bedtime, he often goes in his sleep so he isnt quite ready to be completly free of fiapers.  However within 5 minutes of putting him a pullup he will generally poop.  Even if we sit him on the potty before hand. 

So I am going to try something that might take a LOT of willpower from Shawn and myself.  Gabe recently discovered ZhuZhu pets... so I found a ZhuZhu pet 'bus' that I know Gabe will love.  While I was going to use it for his birthday present... I think I am going to put the box in the kitchen by the bathroom.  Everytime Gabe sees it I know he will whine and want it.  So we are going to tell him, "If you Poop on the potty, you get the ZhuZhu."  Cross your fingers!  I am tired of the poo!

Sooooo I think someone kidnapped my kids and replaced them with well behaved children.

Since Saturday we have had one... just one tantrum and it wasn't even a big'un.  Minus Saturday night - the kids have been going to bed without a fuss and since Monday they have been taking their naps.  Of course by writing this it probably means they are going to be hellions today.  Yet still, they have been playing very nice together - I haven't caught either of them hitting each other, there is still some minor toy fighting but not like I have been getting used to.

Maybe it is the nice weather... maybe it is they are finally adjusted to the time change... maybe... well I don't know, I just hope it lasts! 

I have a loooooong list of errands to do today, but if I am lucky I should be able to get some pictures uploaded later from Easter.  I have a couple videos as well that I want to post - mainly of Caitlynn being Caitlynn.

Whew it has been a marathon couple of weeks here.  Between the monsoon that flooded our basement, to Spring finally arriving, and Easter.

The kids have been having trouble with their schedules since the time change, not that I blame them.  But knock on wood it looks like everything is finally settling down on a regular routine again.  So in the news - Caitlynn is finally walking.   She was taking steps on her own but now she will toddle where she wants to go most of the time.  Although she loves it when Gabe gets down on the floor and races her crawlingstyle. 

Easter weekend was a rough time for the kids - although they behaved amazingly well.  I believe we only had one potty accident (which wasn't Gabe's fault, he said Potty and even put the small potty on the regular toilet, but neither grandpa nor daddy put him up on it) and only one minor tantrum.  We went to an Easter Egg hunt and then went shopping!  Gabe got to ride a duhduhduh (train) at the mall, and then both the kids got to romp around at Crystal Mall's kidgets playground for close to an hour.  It was adorable, Caitlynn had a train of little girls following her.  A couple even asked me very polittely if they could give her kisses and hugs.  Eventually Cait got tired of her retinue and started pushing them away.  Gabe was running laps and even taking turns to ride on the slide.  Imagine that, my 2 year old waiting for his turn... and he didnt push another child once! 

Of course the Easter bunny came and brought presents and toys, but Gabe's favorite thing is his ZhuZhu Pet.  He chants it now and brings it around like he does with his Gugs.  I have a feeling we should get a few new pieces for his birthday.  Cait loves to watch it and occasionally annoys Gabe by reaching into the track to pull out the pet and hand it to me.  Ahhh siblings.

Anyway, past the kids, I do want to post my latest money saving task.  I have decided that I will no longer buy my chicken broth in a can/box.  With 3 lone chicken thighs I made a delicious pot of broth.  I made it a bit salty for my tastes but now that I have the hang of it - you can bet I'll be buying chicken on sale to make this more often.  it was delicious!  And incredibly cheap.  I made a pot of broth that cost the same as 4 boxes of broth on sale.  I think I may start saving my pork and beef scraps in the freezer to make other broths as well. 

I made the broth specifically for Alton Brown's chicken and dumplings - however I do not have a pressure cooker so I just cooked the broth all day.  Next time I may try the crock pot =)

here is the recipe if you are interested.