Momspotting Meme

For the past few months, I’ve been participating in BlogHer’s Family Connections citizen journalism project as a Momspotter. If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve probably seen the #momspotting hashtags. Basically that means I tweet a few times a day about how I use technology in my day-to-day parenting life.

What better way to start off February than with a meme? I think February is National Meme Month. I’m pretty sure I read that on Facebook one day after deleting all of my friends’ requests to join their Farmville Mafias on LinkedIn. I am not making this up.

If you like the meme, feel free to do one yourself and leave a link in the comments or tweet it with the #momspotting hashtag.

1. Which expensive electronic device do you most often let your older children abuse or your baby drool on?

   I never thought I’d say this, but my iPhone. My beloved iPhone. Eight months ago? I would have said no way in hell. Today? Some days it gets me five minutes of peace. Somehow it ends up being worth it. This was probably the wrong time to not buy the extended service warranty.

2. How many take-out restaurant numbers do you have programmed into your phone?
• We don’t do a lot of takeout.
• Houghton County isn’t exactly a Dining Out Mecca.
• I have a hard time handing over $30 (or whatever) for a dinner out when I could have taken that money to the grocery store, purchased the ingredients and cooked a better version of that dinner at home and eaten it in my underwear.

Having said that, I found three pizza joints in my phonebook. I think we’ve called one in the past six months.

3. How many hours of television do you so totally not let your kids watch a week?
   I read somewhere that it isn’t recommended for children under the age of two to watch TV. She’s watched a few cartoons (Yo G@bba G@bba, Curious George), but it’s not a regular thing. If she is in front of the TV for two hours a week, that would be an unusual situation. I do let her watch Modern Family with us on Wednesday nights. Because, AWESOME.
4. Do you think people who say “we don’t watch television” at playdates but really mean “we just watch DVDs” are lying liars from Liarville?
   I know a handful of people who don’t have a TV in their house, or at least one that’s hooked up to cable or satellite. Up here, if you don’t have one of those options, you get zero local broadcast channels. (Evidently the hamsters can’t run fast enough on the wheel to get the signal to transmit to BF Nowhere.) I knew a guy who very self-righteously proclaimed to me that his teenaged daughters didn’t watch TV, but they sure watched a lot of DVDs and went to the movies. I’m not sure how this is “better,” unless by “better” you mean the special effects are cooler, violence more pervasive and the sex scenes more believable. He was also a huge self-righteous, compulsive-lying jackass. Not that this has anything to do with this question. I just felt like saying it. I feel better now.
5. How many miles have you driven with your child and not one device of electronic entertainment in a single car trip?
   Sophie’s taken five long(ish) road trips in her short life. The only trip that didn’t involve me letting her play Peekaboo Barn for at least part of the drive was the first trip she took at two and a half months old. She slept for most of the 20 hours we spent in the car last summer driving to and from Detroit. And that would be the LAST trip she’s taken where she’s slept most of the time. Ah, memories.
6. What’s your record for calls to the pediatrician or Ask-a-Nurse in a single day?
   So far the worst Paranoid Parent moment I’ve had was calling the pediatrician AT HOME ON THE WEEKEND because of a very suspicious diaper incident. It turned out to be nothing. But if you could have seen it, you would have called, too. Poop isn’t supposed to glow in the dark, is it?
7. What’s the sexiest thing your husband/partner could text you after a hard day?
   The house is clean, dinner is cooked and I’ve housetrained the dogs.
8. What’s your favorite iPad joke?
   
9. What’s the dumbest parenting tool, gear, gadget or device you ever bought?
   Will you believe me if I told you I haven’t bought anything that has turned out to be a waste? I tried to do a lot of research on baby stuff before Sophie was born. I didn’t have a lot of money (still don’t) and didn’t want to waste it on stupid, useless crap. Fortunately, I’ve received a lot of hand-me-downs that have worked brilliantly. I’d say we’ve only bought her a handful of baby toys or clothes.

   I will admit that I almost bought one of those bamboo postpartum belly band things, convinced that it would help me get my body “back,” whatever the hell that means. I can’t comment on whether they actually work (nor can I seem to recall the name of the damn thing right now). Don’t worry, I still have plenty of time to buy something stupid.

10. How many years will it take for your child to become more tech-savvy than you?
    Hopefully it won’t be too long, as I was never much for reading manuals. Have I mentioned we still own a VHS player?