How to annoy me

Do you really want to know what annoys me? Are you looking for ways to piss me off and get me ranting and raving? Then read on....

1. Slow drivers. Especially slow drivers in the left lane who drive next to a car in the right lane and won't speed up. Yes, apparently God made you the arbiter of the speed limit. Please make me tow the line and travel at exactly 40 miles per hour as I am heading to work.
2. People who don't flush the toilet. Is it just me? 50% of the time when I walk into a public restroom stall I have to back out because some woman before me couldn't be bothered to flush the handle. Or better yet, it's an automatic flush but she doesn't look to make sure it actually worked. Technology doesn't work all the time, ladies! Do another woman a favor and make sure that your business makes it all the way down the drain.
3. Putting me on loudspeaker for a one-on-one phone meeting. I know you have a headset. Or at the very least a handset. You can't be bothered to pick it up and plug it in just because you are sitting pretty in your cushy office? Instead you want to make me listen to every ambient noise that echoes through your speaker phone? Gee thanks. How did I get so lucky?
4. Do you see me struggling with my stroller? No, no. You go first and let me hold the door for you while I try to maneuver this carriage through a heavy door.
5. Oh, I didn't realize that because you are dropping your child off at daycare you can use the handicap spot. Apparently walking two extra feet from the open parking spot next to it is just too much for you to bear. And while you are at it, go right ahead and take up both of the handicap spots. It's not like anyone else could need them, right?

That's just my top 5. How about the rest of you? What annoys you enough to mentally or verbally spout off at people?

Octomom: A new villian for the 21st century?

I am completely obsessed with this Octomom story. And the Rhianna/Chris Brown situation but that's the topic of another post...

The thing about Octomom is that it raises such feelings of disgust and pity in me. Disgust for the mom who clearly has issues and pity for the kids. Look at how the Jackson 5 turned out and they weren't even multiples! Jon & Kate Plus 8 shows me how kids can be raised "normally" even when on TV and one of 6. But it obviously takes a lot of hard work on their part and they have a huge support system. Octomom? Not so much. Even her mother has been throwing her under the bus!

I read today that Octomom is buying a $500K 4 bedroom house in California. I assume it all funded by donations since Nadya Suleman has no real income aside from disability payments. But she does have 6 older kids to help her raise these octuplets. Talk about a breeding ground for resentment...

Octomom is also getting 24 hour free nursing from a not-for-profit in LA. Yup, 4 to 5 nurses at a time working round the clock to take care of the babies so she can head out an get her nails done. Must be nice.

I am a triplet and one of my sisters has twins so I think multiples are not only fine, but perfectly normal. I'm not one of those people who lash out in the press and say that she should only have had one or two embryos implanted. I'm still confused about how she managed to pay for IVF but if she wanted more than one kid, that's fine by me. What scares me is that I could see her making a decision when told that she had 8 embryos that she would go ahead and risk the health of all of them so she could be the famous mother of the only living set of octuplets in the US.

Some other interesting tidbits:

• Some guy has come out saying that he thinks he is the biological father of the kids and wants a paternity test.
• She gained 130 pounds with the pregnancy. OMG! Can you imagine trying to lose that weight? I'm starting to feel OK about mine...
• 2 PR people have already quit on her. Craziness?
• Dr. Phil is trying to "help" her. I admit I haven't seen those shows so I would rely on my good friend Natalie who watches all things Dr. Phil to comment.
• It will take millions of dollars to raise these kids, especially if they have health or developmental issues. What are the odds that she won't end up on welfare?
• Her parents are divorced but still living together.
• Wikipedia entry

So what does everyone else think about this situation? Is Nadya legit or just another fame seeking American looking for a quick buck?

Is there no such thing as waiting it out any more?

I'll admit it. I'm getting antsy to get this kid out of me. Not because the pregnancy is bad. Far from it. More because I am bored with this stage and ready to move on to the next: motherhood! I'm also not at the "scared out of my wits" to be a mom stage yet so this would be the perfect time for the kid to pop out. In 4 weeks I'll probably be begging her to stay in...

As a part of my obsession I have been doing a lot of web board reading on WebMD (third trimester) and BabyCenter.com (March birth club). At it appears as though every other woman out there is having a scheduled induction or c-section. WTH? One woman writes, "I have an EDD (estimated due date) of 3/14 but am being induced on 3/12." Why? There is no medical reason for the induction aside from scheduling. Not to mention the number who are whining that their doctor won't let them schedule an induction. Women have been giving birth for hundreds of thousands of years (would millions be accurate? probably). Let it come naturally! The best are the women who say, "I am at one centimeter dilated and have been for a week so I am scheduling my induction." or "I have been having small contractions every two hours for the past week." That probably means you needed a week to prepare yourself for labor. Just because you aren't progressing and you have one day to your due date doesn't mean somethings wrong. Gah! Am I wrong to be disgusted with some of these women?**

I have heard that inductions end up with more complications like the need for vacuums or c-sections. So even though it would be nice to not be pregnant I'm not going to rush it on my end. However, if I'm a week past my due date (which was already pushed out from 3/21 to 3/28) I will take the freaking induction. But that's more of a fear for a huge baby than anything else.

So, what do others think about the number of inductions and c-sections? Any corroboration for increasing percentages? Does anyone else roll their eyes at the whining?

**I reserve all right to completely change my mind when I am at 40 weeks pregnant and suffering from contractions. That is my right as a pregnant woman. Deal with it.