Many of you may look at my list at the right of blogs that I like to frequent and think, “My goodness, how in the world does she keep up with all of those? Does she EVER do anything else?” And, in all honesty, the answer is, I do spend way more time on the internet than I should. BUT I do have a secret for saving time. I have Google Reader.

What is Google Reader, you ask? It’s a handy little service that lets me know when any website to which I’ve subscribed is updated with new information. This way, I know almost immediately when my friends and family have updated their blogs, and I have those updates delivered right to me, in something similar to an email inbox. I don’t have to go out and check each site.

Google is not the only Reader available out there, but as most Google products, it is very user friendly. It also doesn’t work for those with private blogs (so those blogs I tend to check much less frequently). Many of you have already experienced the wonders that a Reader has to offer, but if you haven’t, you need to! Never miss another blog post again!!

For help setting up a Google Reader, you can visit the Google Reader Help Videos and the Google Reader Getting Started Guide.

Happy Post-Inauguration Week. There is so much to say, and so little time. So for now, just know that my political musings blog, Winters In Politics, is officially back in business. And I am making the commitment to you here and now that you will find at least one new posting each week. So read and comment faithfully. This country would be nothing if not for the continued tradition of respectful debate. It’s what makes and keeps this country the greatest on earth. So let’s be the change we want to see, as well as the keepers of traditions.

I realized with all my excitement around telling our puking-in-the-car adventures that I never really got to share the story of what we did on our trip to Utah over the holidays. And more importantly, I never got to share the incredibly cute pictures that I stole from my sister-in-law because I neglected to take any of my own (another nod toward the worst parent award). So, here you go, the week in summary.

We left the Northwest on the Sunday after Christmas, as it was the first break in the Arctic Blast. We rounded up chains for the adventure because part of the pass had been closed the night before, but hit clear pavement for the entire drive, amazingly enough. To make life easier on ourselves, we stopped in Boise on the way down to see some good friends from back in the Renton Days, and stayed at their house overnight. Before leaving in the morning we also squeezed in a visit with friends that were home for the holidays from their current residence in Belgium. Such fun to get to touch base with so many good friends!

We finally made it to Utah where we were staying with Nick’s sister and her family. It is so fun to spend time with them, and this trip was especially fun because Mylie and her cousin are finally great ages to play with each other. Annika is Mylie and Nolan’s only cousin thus far, and after a few minutes there with the girls running around and giggling, we all had visions of future summers with the girls staying at each other’s houses for extended vacations. Too fun! The rest of the week was basically spent hanging out with the family, and occasionally visits with friends. It was crazy and relaxing all at the same time, and the week flew by. Below are some of the highlights. Thanks Steve & Rachel for letting us stay, and for letting us use your pictures!

Dear Selection Committee,

It is clear from your responses to my previous application that you were not impressed, and that more than likely we will not be receiving the award for Worst Parents of the Year… at least not this year. Perhaps we chose the wrong example to submit, or maybe the competition is just too stiff. It is interesting to learn how many choice competitors there are in this contest.

Despite the fact that our original application was merely an attempt at a humorous description of our travel experiences, we have learned that in order to compete next year, we must include a more in depth explanation of the events. Perhaps we should have focused more on how we vocally griped aloud, exclaiming, “Nolan, why don’t you just go to sleep?!,” merely minutes before the vomiting potentially occurred. Or perhaps we should use another example all together.

Like last week’s family potluck at Mylie’s preschool. Because the snow in December had caused the Family Holiday Party to be canceled, parents were instead invited to come to a potluck during the first week back to school, and stay with the kids while a Fire Fighter came with a real life Fire Truck for the kids to explore. I, however, did not stay to experience this unforgettable day at preschool. Why, you ask? Did I have a critical and previously scheduled appointment which I could not reschedule? No. I had a play date with Nolan’s buddies and their moms. They are a great bunch of women and I like hanging out with them, so I decided to blow off the family day at preschool to do so. I was only feeling a little guilty about this until we were driving to preschool that morning and Mylie suddenly remembered that Miss Ackerman had told them that all the parents were staying. When I said I probably wouldn’t be staying, she got whiny and asked why, and tried to tell me that “Miss Ackerman said ALL the parents are coming!” Ugh. But I didn’t stay. I just didn’t want to. And of course, it was probably the most exciting day of preschool to date, based on Mylie’s in depth explanations afterward. Do you think that example would work for next year?

Regardless of which of the numerous examples we choose to submit next year, we do believe we have the secret to winning. Yes, instead of submitting our applications to your committee, we have decided to forward all future applications directly to our children. By submitting them in this manner, we are most definitely guaranteed a win, as we are assured that no matter what we do, our children will eventually pick us as Worst Parents of the Year at some point during their childhoods. And make no mistake, after winning such a lucrative award, we absolutely intend on continuing to compete in all the Worst Parent categories, included but not limited to: Worst Parents of the Decade, Worst Parents of the Century, Worst Parents in the World, Worst Parents in the Galaxy, and of course the ultimate – Worst Parents in the Universe. We are confident our application will not be overlooked by the children’s committee as it has been by yours. We do thank you for your time, and look forward to next year.

Sincerely,
The Winters Parents

Dear Selection Committee,

Please accept the following essay as application for The Worst Parent of the Year Award. Though I had many examples and stories I could have submitted, I am aware that we are to choose just one and I am confident that this anecdote will leave you with no doubt in your minds that you should select me as this year’s “Worst Parent.” My application essay is as follows:

Everyone knows that long car trips with young children can be…stressful…at best. A successful road trip requires much careful and strategic planning, as well as specialized gear and a battery of toys, movies and music. For this reason, for most of our time as parents, we have been able to avoid road trips like the plague, opting for flying when possible or simply just staying home. Once our oldest turned two, however, and started costing adult fares to fly, we generally just stayed home. Once the second child came, at the same time that oil prices hit the roof, it was a no brainer.

But then, this past summer, we purchased a minivan. Suddenly we had the capacity for the gear, and the built-in entertainment equipment. It was only a matter of time until we were brave enough to attempt a road trip, and our path toward The Worst Parent of the Year Award would be set.

The inevitable road trip took place just this past week – a post-Christmas jaunt to visit family and friends in Utah. We came as prepared as possible for the 12 hour trip with bags of toys and games, snacks and drinks galore, music, and 12 movies for the built-in DVD player. We even planned to split the trip on the way to Utah into two days, stopping overnight in Boise to visit some friends. Because of this careful planning, our trip out went swimmingly well, which may cause you to want to disqualify us from winning the award. But please continue reading.

For the return trip, we had to drive the full distance in one day. We left a day later than intended, however, because I had gotten food poisoning the night before we were supposed to leave, and was in no condition to be much further away from a bathroom than a few feet, let alone trapped in a car for 12-15 hours, with rest areas only every 50 – 75 miles or so. But it was a short-lived illness, and by the next day we were good to go, and we packed up and headed out.

The trip started well, as the first one had, and we made good time back up to Boise where we stopped to have some lunch and let the kids run their wiggles out in a play land. With full tummies and their energy worked out, we figured we’d have an extra peaceful few hours, during the post-lunch naptime that was sure to ensue. And, like clockwork, the older one stuck on her headphones and watched a movie while the younger one drifted off to sleep almost immediately. I opened up the book that I was reading aloud to my husband, and we settled in for the duration.

How surprised we were when just 20 minutes down the road, the younger child awoke crying. Being just over one year of age, and having few other means of communication, crying is common for him. We ignored him, expecting him to drift back off to sleep momentarily. But pretty soon, the crying escalated. So we offered him some water, which he promptly threw to the floor and continued screaming. He was wiggling in his seat, and I thought he might have a poopy diaper, but I couldn’t smell anything, so we decided to continue ignoring him. He continued to scream, but just before we made the decision to pull into a rest area, he fell asleep. We passed the station, only to have him wake up again 20 minutes later. This pattern continued past a number of possible stops. My husband and I were getting highly annoyed by this point, as we were really into the book we were reading, and saw no reason why he shouldn’t be going to sleep and staying asleep. At one point, I believe I even voiced such frustrations out loud.

Finally, just as dusk overtook the car, he finally gave up the fight, and fell asleep. About this same time, our daughter noticed a strange smell in the car, which we attributed to the other cars around us on the road. But finally, the younger child was sleeping, so I did little to investigate the smell, grateful for the silence and the opportunity to read in peace.

A couple hours later, we decided it was time for a bathroom break and dinner, so we found a place to satisfy both needs and pulled over. Our youngest woke as we came to a stop and turned on the lights in the car. As both my husband and I looked back at him, he grinned up at us with a huge and messy smile. At first we were perplexed, wondering how he had gotten into such a messy snack that would be smeared all over his face and clothes. And then we realized it wasn’t smeared snack at all. No, the child had puked all over himself, the carseat and the car. And it quickly became apparent that it was the vomit we had smelled over two hours previously but to which we had failed to pay any attention. And the reason for his continued innability to sleep, to get comfortable, to relax and to stop crying also became instantly apparent… two hours too late. Nope, instead of comforting our poor nauseated toddler, just a day after I had wanted to die from a similar symptom, we had frustratedly complained, “Why can’t you just go to sleep?!”

So, as your committee can plainly see, we are most definitely deserving of your Worst Parent of the Year Award, for our unsympathetic and selfish behavior toward our poor, helpless and sick toddler. We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. All correspondence can be directed to our comments section below, and if you need any other examples of poor parenting, we would be happy to provide those as well. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
The Winters Parents