Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Rest In Peace.

My laptop has died, I think. Not my shiny HP one, but the Sony Viao I got for Mother's Day--2002. Yeah. It was seven years old. It was going out. The screen started flickering, and I took it in. They told me the hard drive was bad. So, I bought another hard drive on Ebay, and replaced the old one.
It's flickering again. So much so, I can't do anything on it. So, R.I.P., my first laptop. I shall retire you to the basement storage permanently, until I can figure out what to do with you.

I'm coveting my SIL's Christmas present--one of those HP mini netbooks. They're teeeeeny.You know, they have a Vivienne Tam edition--it literally looks like a small clutch purse. You can surf the internet wirelessly, write, check email--basically it's a large cellphone. I just want the plain old black one for my kitchen. Because I always seem to be finding myself around the kitchen--whether cleaning it or preparing meals or just baking.
They run around $379. Yep. For a computer. Granted, they have zero memory and no dvd drive, and I've heard the webcam and speaker are crap, but the 2009 versions are more promising. They weigh around 2 pounds. THAT is LIGHT.
I just think it would be nice and convnenient to have. Although who knows when I'll get one!
SO--we have a dilemma. Thing Four, who is 20 months, is a blanket-chewer. It's his "pacifier" if you will. When he goes to bed at night, he has a chenille-knit blanket he calls "nonny" and he sticks the corner of that thing in his mouth and sucks on it--literally--like a pacifier. And that is what he needs to go to sleep, for naps, and bedtime.
He's getting buck teeth. No joke. He really is. All that blanket chewing is wreaking havoc on his two front teeth. So, Hubby and I have decided to get rid of the blanket. It would be okay, if he didn't CHEW on it. But he does, so it has to go.
The first night, he asked for it, and we told him it was "all gone." He whimpered, but that was it. We gave him a rougher, heavier blanket, and tucked him in. He must have been tired, because he fell asleep. The next DAY, however, he screamed and cried for 15 minutes at naptime because he wanted Nonny. I gave him the rough, thick blanket instead.
Don't worry, he ended up chewing on the rough, thick blanket. So, night before last, we had to tuck him in with ZERO blankets. I was a mess, he was whimpering and begging for a blanket, and we told him it "went bye bye." He was okay, but woke up in the night crying for it. LAST night, Thing One slept in his room with him, and she told us she checked on him a few times and he had his THUMB in his mouth.
So, I'm thinking he's just orally fixated and no matter what we do, he'll find something to chew on. He's doomed to have buck teeth. Suggestions, anyone?

7 comments:

Michelle Miles said...

Well. It could be something he grows out of. I don't know - I have no experience with that sort of thing since my kiddo was never interested in thumb-sucking or a pacifier.

My laptop is old too but it still works so I'm doomed to keep it I guess. I really want one of those flashy new ones with a widescreen. LOL

Anonymous said...

Geez Lara . . . your're one tough mom. I'd have caved in five minutes.

Give him an ortho pacifier. It won't be as hard on his teeth and you'll both get some sleep. If he starts sucking on his thumb, you won't be able to take that away. You can lose the pacifier in six months or so.

Sorry about the laptop. It's hard to part with sentimental items.

Aimee said...

Whitney was a SERIOUS thumb sucker. The only thing that got her to quit was getting her front two teeth knocked out at age 5. Sad as that was, it was a good thing it happened because it was the only thing (short of cutting off her thumb) that got her to stop.

Anonymous said...

I know that they have some stuff you can spray on items that will give them a bitter taste. They have it for nail-biters. It's safe, non-toxic and all it does is deter kids from putting thing in their mouths.

Try looking it up, that way he can have his blanket, but it won't be tasty for him.

-Sis

Anonymous said...

Sorry about your computer woes.

Gosh, about the thumb-sucking, I don't know. I had a pacifier, and when it was time to give it up, my parents told me that Peter Rabbit's little sister needed it more than I did, we washed it and packed it into a box that had once held a bar of Ivory Snow and my dad took it to "mail".

I even got a thank you note from "Peter Rabbit's mother".

I remember it distinctly, although I was only about two.

Supposedly I cried for a few days, but the dog came to keep me company, and the dog always knew how to handle me. I don't remember that part, but I remember packing it off (well, my mom packed, I watched) and handing the box to my dad to mail.

Deb said...

I bought the Samsung NC10. 160GB HD, 1 GB RAM, 10 inch screen. Extremely portable and I've gotten SIX+ hours on the battery, which is awesome.

Derek said...

Ya laptops have gotten alot better but desktops still rule the world. I have a 3 year old daughter but when she was 1 my wife and I took her pacifiers away and I think that stopped her all together from sucking her thumb.