No answers. Just stories.
The children’s school — Happy Progressive Smiles — has sent home a sheet on which we are to pledge our commitment to some act to help the environment in honor of Earth Day.
I wanted to count saving the hospital peri bottle from the landfill by bringing it home for the girls to use in the tub.
“That’s inappropriate,” Sunbeam said.
She is such a buzz kill sometimes.
Da Momma: Elizabeth, a journalist and college instructor. Formerly a latte-slinging, cell phone-talking Washington political junkie. Now a wild-dancing accidentally offensive woman with an irrational passion for flinging things on the floor and hanging things from ceilings. Wants you to think she's a grown-up, even though she calls her Dad the minute things get complicated.
Baby Eden: The Schmoopy. My sweet little Three, who shrank instead of grew. But she's always had Momma's back.
Mary: Devoted to hermit crabs and FREAKING OUT. Made me a mother.
Karenna: Peekaboo Streak. The Roodle, Doodley. Everybody knows about Roo. Passionate about folk music. Some werewolf tendencies. Always looking for new employees. Sophisticated vocabulary
Cute Husband, Esq: A former Marine, it was he who instilled in our daughters a love of getting up very early in the morning to go off and do things. Some days he's lucky he's still alive.
Moonbeam and Sunbeam: Yes, okay, somehow or other they got the same sorta names as our cats, Moonlight and Sunshine. That was a total accident. However, like the cats, they are super-cuddly, will get food for themselves if hungry, and they're part of the family. Like the rest of the family, they believe in the power of liquor, drugs, and hot glue. They have no fear of blood.
The Beasties: Two cats. And some cacti that refuse to die. This is a picture of a fish we killed a long time ago. Need to update that.
Sunbeam will find out soon enough – my daughter LOVED the peri bottle!
“That’s inappropriate” The hell it is! You’ll be doing a dual service- environmental friendliness AND early birth control after someone explains the purpose of said peri-bottle to the curious children.
Ok maybe that IS inappropriate
inappropriate? maybe. accurate? yes.
I think that was brilliant!
I also think you should have written on the back of the paper that they could have helped saving the Earth by NOT sending paper notes home, and email all the parents instead. Heh. Snarky-I-am. Let me know how it works for you, it’s not going over so well at my kids’ school.
Appropriate? Who cares?! :O. Sooo true. Still have mine from baby #2 and he is now 3. We are in a recession, no?! Free toys are great!
Inappropriate? Maybe… okay yeah but seriously who cares! It’s clean and the girls will get a lot of joy and fun out of it. Of course when they turn around and squirt you, it might not be so joyful!
Here ya go: Nurse The Earth
Doesn’t everyone keep that bottle for a bath toy? Ours is currently a soap holder for diaper changes but the next destination is the tub.
I use my Peri Bottle to refill my iron with water. wrap your head around that one Sunbeam!
That’s not inappropriate!! I did the same thing!
I thought it was part of the experience, to bring the Peri bottle home as a tub toy. I used it first to rinse the soap out of their hair when they were itty bitty.
Congratulations!!!!
Some of the earth saving stuff just not appreciated at school. Like not flushing toilet, showering together, reusing peri-bottle, breastfeeding. All good for the environment! And, those papers from school (which only get worse in grade school) all get cut in half lengthwise, stapled together for grocery list and note paper!
Yup, my peri-bottle is on the changing table, for wetting down cloth wipes.
I just looked up what a peri bottle was…blink…blink. Oh my. Count me in as someone swayed even more strongly to birth control as a result.
Ha! Favourite bath toy here, too. My daugher calls it her “Squeaky” and sings that song from Dora when she plays with it. I hope you scribbled it on the bottom of the sheet when Sunbeam wasn’t looking.
Hey
Nothing more appropriate than a peri bottle for many reasons on many levels. Plastic, recyclable, circle of life, and fun squirting things. I am 58 and remember those sweet awesome days of newmotherhood so fondly. Yes, we even had peri bottles in the 70′s. Ha.
Oh, I absolutely saved my peri-bottle. Used it for cloth wipes. I actually still have it, which means I have to decide what I’m going to do with the one I get from this birth. Bath toy sounds perfect!
My is still in the bath toys 5 years later! Boy, I wish that I could get my hands on those ice core maxi pads. Those were the best!
Jenn– being a C-girl I’d never had to use the ice core maxis. But this time they tore skin on my belly with the pressure bandage and gave me the ice-core maxis. Ohhhh … !! SO NICE! Sunbeam managed to lift about 2 dozen of those. I stuck them in my waistband. It was very nice.
My births? The nurses helped me pack up everything they could- even the cheap little toothbrush and comb. My kids even love playing with the bedpans the nurses crammed in my bag- they use it to “cook” their play food and know no difference. Cheap/free toys are the best toys!
Instead of ice core maxis, my nurses lined a newborn diaper with ice(ya know, under the mesh part where the absorbent part is). I am totally doing that with EVERY kid. I had quite a few stitches and I didnt feel a thing because of that ice diaper!
we Still have the peri bottle in the tub, 3 years later …
TOTALLY kept mine, and it almost caused world war 3 when my dh tossed it when we moved when G was tiny.
She is gorgeous Liz- congrats!
Ha!! Who knew there were so many uses for that little gem! Mine has been sitting abandoned in the back of the closet for 2 years… must rescue it tonight! Ooh and it’ll have a mate in a few weeks time, twice the fun! LOL
I did bring home the peri-bottle after child #1, but after I healed, I don’t know what happened to it. Tossed it, I guess. Now I’m totally wishing I had one! Tub toy! Who knew?! I’ll be SURE to save this next one, for the tubby-time pleasure of the Older One. Love to you all!
I never got a peri-bottle. I do however still use the bed pan / throw up bucket to wash the car and when I’m pulling weeds in the yard. My neighbors love me. Really.
Sorry, I am lost here – what is a peri bottle? We don’t have them here. Or at least didn’t when my children were born.
I still have both peri bottles from both of my girls. We have 3 baths in our house so I might have to have another baby just to get another peri bottle for the third bathroom!
The nurses here told us we had to take a bag of diapers home with us when we left if they were opened and they actually would open them for us too! It was great! Schmoopy is adorable and you look great Liz!
I was chasing around my house one day scrambling to find a suitable watering can for my very late started tomato seedlings. Peri bottle to the rescue! That this is now worth it’s weight in gold. No more busted seedlings from over enthusiastic watering can wielding. Congrats on the new baby.
I was chasing around my house one day scrambling to find a suitable watering can for my very late started tomato seedlings. Peri bottle to the rescue! It is now worth it’s weight in gold. No more busted seedlings from over enthusiastic watering can wielding. Congrats on the new baby.