Growing Up Whitsitt: January 2007

Since 1986

In honor of the Chicago Bears going to Super Bowl 41. Here are 41 things that have changed from the last time the Chicago Bears played in the Super Bowl (which was Super Bowl 20 in 1986):

1. Brian Urlacher was in 2nd grade. Rex Grossman was in kindergarten.

2. Peyton Manning was 10 years old. Eli Manning was 5 years old. Their dad, Archie, had just retired from the NFL two years earlier.

3. Lovie Smith was in his first college coaching job at University of Tulsa .

4. Ronald Reagan was the President, and Harold Washington was the Mayor. James R. Thompson was the Governor running for re-election and his office was in the new State of Illinois Center, which is now called the James R. Thompson Center .

5. George W. Bush was 39 years old and still drinking. His father would run for President two years later.

6. Rod Blagojevich was just out of law school and was a low-level prosecutor working for the Cook County State 's Attorney, Richard M. Daley.

7. Barack Obama had just moved to Illinois , and Osama bin Laden was fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan.

8. Red Grange and Sid Luckman were still alive.

9. The Colts had just moved to Indianapolis from Baltimore and were the doormat of the AFC EAST. The Bears were the champions of the NFC CENTRAL.

10. Property in Wicker Park and Bucktown was cheap because they were really bad neighborhoods.

11. CD players, cellular phones and fax machines were expensive, cutting edge technology and only a few people used them.

12. "Surfing the net" meant a volleyball game at the beach, and virtually no one used the "@" key on their TYPEWRITER.

13. Sam Walton was still alive and was wealthier than Bill Gates. Windows were panes of glass...not a computer operating system that was a pain in something that rhymes with glass.

14. The Soviet Union was our main enemy, and Saddam Hussein was our ally.

15. There were no lights at Wrigley Field, and the oldest park in baseball belonged to the White Sox.

16. Michael Jordan and Ozzie Guillen had just finished their "Rookie of the Year" seasons. Jordan's coach was Stan Albeck and Guillen's manager was Tony LaRussa. (Three out of four of those guys are now wearing championship rings, but what ever happened to Stan Albeck???)

17. Soldier Field had AstroTurf. The Houston Oilers played in the AstroDome.

18. The Fox TV Network didn't exist, and ESPN had yet to air a single live pro football, baseball, or basketball game.

19. MTV played music and so did some AM radio stations.

20. Lindsay Lohan and Hilary Duff weren't born yet; Jackie Gleason and Richard Nixon were still alive.

21. Hillary Clinton had dark hair and was the First Lady......of Arkansas!

22. "The Love Boat" and "Diff'rent Strokes" were still on network TV every week.

23. Martin Luther King Day was about to be celebrated as a National Holiday for the first time. "9-11" was a phone number many cities were just adopting for emergency calls - not a date of terror.

24. I-88 was called "Illinois Rt. 5" and I-355 hadn't been built yet.

25. What the CTA now calls "The Blue Line" had just been extended to O'Hare, and the Orange Line to Midway hadn't been built yet.

26. Q101 played adult contemporary music and most teenagers listened to WLS. Music from the 70s and 80s wasn't "retro" yet.

27. Tiger Woods hadn't won an amateur golf tournament yet.

28. Most people knew Seattle just as a city in the Northwest U.S. - not the home of grunge or Starbucks.

29. Only Southerners went to NASCAR races and only Northerners went to NHL games.

30. The Chicago area had no Wal-Marts, Targets or Home Depots, and Walgreen's was only in the Midwest.

31. Depending on your bank, your ATM card was good at only "Cash Station" machines or only at "Money Network" machines, but there were no fees.

32. "The Phone Company" was Illinois Bell.

33. They still sold leaded gasoline and you couldn't pay for your gas at the pump.

34. Discover Card hadn't been discovered yet, and Miller Genuine Draft hadn't been brewed yet.

35. Stereo TVs were the rage that HDTVs are now. 8-track tapes were still being made.

36. All of the Blockbuster Video stores that are now closing hadn't opened yet. Betamax was still competing with VHS.

37. You paid cash for your groceries and fast food, and you used a travel agent to book airline flights.

38. Bowl games didn't have corporate sponsors, and if the #1 ranked team was in a conference that played in one bowl game and the #2 ranked team was in a conference that played in another bowl game, then so be it! They let the sportswriters vote on the national champion. (and no college football games were played after New Year's Day)

39. The Baltimore Ravens were the Cleveland Browns. The Tennessee Titans were the Houston Oilers. The Oakland Raiders were the Los Angeles Raiders that had just left Oakland. The Arizona Cardinals (the former Phoenix Cardinals) were the St. Louis Cardinals, and the St. Louis Rams were the Los Angeles Rams. The Jacksonville Jaguars, Carolina Panthers, Houston Texans, and the Cleveland Browns (not to be confused with the Cleveland Browns that are now the Baltimore Ravens) didn't exist. The Seattle Seahawks (last year's NFC Champions) played in the AFC.

40. Number 9 on the Bears was their Punky QB...not their perky field goal kicker.

41. There were no iPods - just Sony Walkmen - so if you said something about a "shuffle" on your Walkman, they assumed you were listening to "The Super Bowl Shuffle"

Eleven....and a HALF!

Well, February is just days away - and that means soon Bailey will be not just eleven...but eleven AND A very-important HALF! And that means one step closer to the TEEN YEARS! Oh, Lord give me strength! Just kidding. Today's post is actually about how very proud I am of Bailey. Being a pre-teen is not fun. You couldn't PAY me to go back to that age. One foot in being a kid and the other in maturity. Finding your place is so hard at this age. Some days you want to be little and some days you want to be grown - but neither place feels like a good fit. Believe it or not, - I DO remember how it feels. And because I remember, it makes me all the more proud of her. It is a time when befriending an unpopular girl can feel like social suicide. It is a time when wearing your hair the wrong way can ruin the entire school year. And despite all of these pressures - from what I can tell - Bailey is making the right choices.

There is a girl in her class that has a rough home life - not popular with the "it" girls, for sure - and has a reputation for being trouble. Bailey is her friend. Now, as a mother, I want Bailey to be accepting and respectful of others - but I struggled with this one. We all know how dangerous it can be to hang around with the wrong crowd.....but then I caught myself. And shame on me! How very proud I should be (and AM) that Bailey is willing to catch grief from the popular girls and continue to be this girl's friend! At a recent slumber party, the popular girls were talking poorly about this other friend - and teasing Bailey a little for talking to her. I could see Bailey's discomfort. After the sleepover, Bailey mentioned to me how much that bothers her that they aren't nice to this girl.

I am so proud of Bailey for seeing the good in everyone. I am proud of her for wanting to do so well in everything she does. I am so proud of her for how funny she is! I am proud of her for the patience, understanding and love she shows to her little sister. I am proud of her for the tenacity she shows in sports, music - almost everything that's thrown at her - except maybe cleaning. ha.

I just marvel at the young woman she is growing to be. She is such a blessing to me - and to everyone she meets.

17 months old

Today, Lauren is 17 months old. That's just one month from 18 months, which is only 6 months from TWO! No way! The little baby is DEFINITELY gone - replaced by a rambunctious, often-precocious, opinionated and frequently stubborn toddler. She has begun to enjoy "fighting" with her big sister ("No, no, no! Mine!"), climbing, maneuvering, lifting and dragging with dogged determination. She just doesn't understand the concept of impossible. A good quality overall that will prove to be a parenting challenge, I'm sure.

Lauren has developed into an extremely social little girl who never met an audience she didn't love. Give her a stage and she'll put on a show! Recently we attended several family gatherings where she instantly began showing off her every trick. Peek-a-boo, where she covers her eyes with her hands, dancing and marching (which are sometimes one in the same), "so-big & touchdown! (also one in the same), blowing kisses, showing her belly, pointing to her nose, giving kisses, tickling toes, "ho, ho ho," cleaning up her toys (sometimes), patty-cake and more. She can REALLY ham it up! With parents like Mark & I and a big-sister like Bailey -I'm just not sure where she gets it! =-)

Last month we began the time-out process. She only sits for - I don't know - 2 seconds? But it seems to be working. She has her little fit, gets over it and moves on. And that's about all you can ask of a time-out at this age I think. I'm sure she'll see the time-out chair/rug/spot on the floor much more often in the coming months. Lord help us.

Her favorite things:

TV Show: DORA the Explorer. She FREAKS OUT every time it comes on the TV - dancing, screaming, clapping - pure joy.

Food: Crackers and pancakes (a carb-lover like Mom). Other than that - it is a crap shoot, really. Sometimes she'll eat like a champ and other times she won't touch a single crumb. Pretty much it is an every-other-day eating schedule. She ate well yesterday, so I"m banking that today is a not hungry day. We'll see.

Song: Lauren loves ALL songs. She loves playing pianos and any other thing that makes a pleasant noise. She loves the Dora the Explorer theme-song, of course, as well as "You Are My Sunshine," "Nigh-Nigh, Lauren" (Mommy's altered version of Goodnight, Ladies).

Activity: Lauren LOVES to empty and fill. Cupboards, boxes, baskets - you name it. If there's something in it - she loves to empty it. When it's empty - she loves to fill it back up. She also enjoys grabbing a bag, putting it over her arm and telling us all "bye-bye." She walks away and returns 10 seconds later with a big smile and a sweet "Hi!" She can play these two games ALL DAY LONG!

People: Bailey! The look of admiration and love in her eyes when she looks up at Bailey is something I wish I could bottle. It is absolutely beautiful.

I'm continually amazed at her ability to brighten my day. I often find myself in a joyous moment with her and consciously feel myself trying to memorize it - to soak it all in to create a lasting memory that I'll be able to recall 50 years from now. Because if it is possible to love and appreciate moments so much that you'll never EVER forget them - well then these are the moments that I want to engrain into my heart forever. These are some of the best days of my life - right now - because of you, Lauren.

Special Time With Grandma

Lauren's First Sentence

Sunday, Lauren said her first sentence! Was it "I love you, Mommy?" No, I wasn't that lucky. She and Bailey were reading a book together. Bailey reached to turn the page and Lauren whipped the book out of Bailey's hands and said, "MY book!" Nice. Real nice. So as exciting as a "first sentence" should be, it followed with a lesson in sharing, complete with temper tantrum and spinal collapse. (sigh).

Dora FREAK OUT


This is what Lauren does when Dora comes on the TV. FREAK OUT!

Bear Down Fight Song!

Know what COLTS stands for? Count On LOSING That Sunday!!!

Z Bones--The Chicago Bears Are The Best Team

Go Bears! Beat Saints! Monsters of the Midway are ready for the SUPERBOWL!

Anything for my little sister

Just Playin' Around With Daddy

Put Your Records On

I HAVE TO BUY THIS ALBUM NOW!!! I absolutely LOVE this new artist.

Kappa Kappa Mommy

Last week I stumbled on to a few local stay-at-home-Mom (SAHM) groups. http://sahm.meetup.com/75/?gj=sj3

Apparently they arrange play dates, outings, discuss relevant topics on message boards, schedule mom nights out - and pretty much everything wonderful for the SAHM who needs to get out and talk to other adults once in awhile! I created a username and password and signed up for a play date at one of the local mall play areas. I was very excited to meet other SAHMS in the area and even more excited for Lauren to get a chance to play with other kids her age. (She needs a little practice with sharing).

Well, the morning of the play date came and Lauren had a runny nose. Now - she wasn't SICK...but she had a runny nose. No fever, no discoloration of the stuff coming out of her nose, no behavior indicating that she didn't feel good....JUST a runny nose. Now, if I had something scheduled with people I already knew - I wouldn't have questioned myself on whether or not I should take her out with a runny nose. BUT...since this was our first time meeting the other Moms, I thought I'd be extra cautious. So, I posted the question to the message board. I explained that she just had a bit of a runny nose and because I was new I didn't know if the group was pretty laid back, or if they would prefer we stay home. Well, the first two replies where what I expected. One said something like "Who DOESN'T have a runny nose this time of year - bring her." And one post directed me to the group's sick child guidelines http://files.meetup.com/135312/Sick%20Child%20Guidelines.doc which I reviewed and determined we were good to go.

When we arrived at the mall, I also made sure to let the other Moms that were there at the time know about her sniffles and offered that we would leave if anyone was uncomfortable. No problems - the Moms were laid back and very nice and welcoming to us. We stayed for over an hour and had a wonderful time.

And THEN...when I returned home, I went back online to look for more upcoming outings and to my HORROR I found more posts. Mean, insensitive, unwelcoming and ignorant posts. Here's my favorite that almost made me cry.

Ok, fair warning here-I'm on my soapbox. Is there a reason you would purposely expose other kids to your child's cold????? How would you feel if someone did that to your child? Does any parent really want a snot covered toy passed to their child? Personally I am quite surprised anyone would suggest to take a sick child to a playdate to intentionally infect all the other kids and adults--especially a playdate with babies where they handle everything and put everything in their mouths.

Ok, now I'll settle down a little bit. My son has compromised immunity so he picks up every bug there is, the illness lasts forever, and we always end up with fun things like hospital stays etc. all from a simple cold. It just makes me crazy when people purposely take a sick child out to an area where they can affect so many other kids. It's very rude to other parents and children. Think of how much less sick we all would be if people would stay home when they are sick instead of spreading it around. So now you know why I am such a zealot about the whole sick kid thing. Please let me clarify-snot is snot. Doesn't matter what color it is. Snot equals cold which equals contagious-regardless of color. Common misconception.

In small cases clear snot may mean allergies but many, many times parents will say allergies as an excuse when they know full well their child has a cold. Or a parent may think their child has allergies when they really just have frequent minor colds. So just my 2 cents. Please don't anyone bash me or think me terrible-I'm understandably a freak about sickness. Sorry to be a bummer.

HARSH! Wow - I'm great at making new friends I guess. Now - keep in mind - I have no idea who this Mom is - she wasn't at the play date. Neither was anyone else who left a nasty opinion. And a few of the Mom's who WERE there either posted in my defense or sent me a nice email.

So I was thinking of joining one of the other local groups instead - but when I clicked on the "Des Moines West Side Hip Mamas Meetup Group," I learned that you need to submit your name, where you live, a little about yourself and why you want to join the group and THEN they will decide if you are accepted or declined. Holy Kappa Kappa Mommy! Not interested in rush. Visions of questions like race and income-level danced through my head. I am hoping it isn't as bad as it sounds - but again - not a great first impression.

So, I'm sticking with the original two groups I joined and kept Lauren home today instead of going to Kindermusik as we we had planned. I didn't want anyone burning me and my slightly sniffly daughter at the stake and chasing us out of the building with their baby morraccas.

Before it turned ugly on the message boards though, here are a few pictures I snapped at the play date. As you can see - Lauren was having a BLAST, so a little Wysteria Lane action was worth it.

Playing with new toy


piano toy from Pam

Lauren and her new scooter


Thank you, Aunt Pam!

If I Could Use My Words

This morning, when Bailey waved good-bye and walked out the front door for school, a sad, sad thing happened at our house. Lauren ran over to grab her coat (which was on the floor and not hung up in the closet, of course). She brought it over to me and said "Please! Please!, Bye-Bye!"

She wanted to go to school TOO! She wanted to go "bye-bye" with her big sister! I had to tell her no...that we weren't going "bye-bye" and that Bailey had to go to school.

What happened next? BIG, SAD tears. (Mommy's heart is breaking!!!)

Rogaine Baby

When did Lauren's hair get this long!?@# I SWEAR it wasn't that long when I put her to bed last night...and I don't think she was this big, either. STOP THAT!