this site and this site this morning, considering that I neither love nor hate Paris Hilton. I mean, I think she’s a blight on the face of humanity, but other than that, I’m just kinda “eh” when it comes to her.
Someone needs to tell her to stop tilting her head, though, or her neck is going to freeze that way.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
We were watching Survivor last week, and at one point (I’ll try not to spoil it for those of you who haven’t seen it yet), Jeff Probst said “Ulong.”
“Oolong?” I said to Fred. “Is that like the tea?”
“I dunno.” He thought for a second, then grinned. “Funny. I thought it would be spelled U-L-O-N-G, like an ‘unsigned long’ from programming. That’s a 32-bit number that can only be positive. And zero. Anything from zero to a little over 4.7 billion.”
He considered.
“Except I always figured it was pronounced ‘you-long’, because of the ‘U’,” he said. “Maybe that’s my Alabama coming out.”
We watched TV for a second or two in silence.
“4.2 billion,” he said suddenly. “Not 4.7. Because a regular signed 32-bit integer only goes up just over 2.1 billion – that’s 2 to the 31st power – and an unsigned would be one more power of two onto that, so–”
I made a loud snoring noise and gave me a wounded look.
But he shut up.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
So yes,
Fred is having a vasectomy, which means (god willing and the creek don’t rise. Heh heh heh. I said “rise”!) there won’t be a little Fredbyn running around here and I won’t be blogging about our kid and getting into flamewars with people who leave snide comments about our parenting choices.
Also, Fred won’t be gagging over a shitty diaper. Did anyone see that on America’s Funniest Home Videos Sunday? That was hilarious – you note that none of the people gagging over shitty diapers was a woman.
Anyway.
So I gather from the reaction that this is a surprise to some of you – someone in Fred’s comments said that it kind of came out of left field – which surprised me (that y’all were surprised, I mean), but then I remembered that you haven’t been here when we’ve been discussing it over the past six months or so. And then I remembered that more than five years ago I posted
an entry saying that I was going to go off birth control in March of 2000 and start trying to get pregnant, so I guess I can see why the surprise.
I don’t know at what point we ended up deciding that we didn’t really want to have another kid; I think it’s been a gradual decision over the last few years. We went from
kinda wanting to have another kid, to definitely
not wanting one. If one or the other of us desperately wanted a kid, I’m pretty sure the other one would go along with that, and I’m sure we’d both love the kid with all our hearts. In like manner, had I accidentally gotten pregnant I think we would have had the kid and right now y’all would be snarking about its name or clothing or lack of a hat in cold weather.
But we just don’t want another kid, we really don’t. I know that disappoints some of you, but, well, to have a kid just ’cause y’all want us to would be pretty damn silly, wouldn’t it?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Several people said that, in the Tubby movie I put up a few days ago, I don’t sound like they expected. That’s funny, because I’ve always wished that I had a whiskey voice like
Ellyn from Thirtysomething. I don’t, though – I have a high, girly voice and usually it makes me cringe, though I didn’t think I sounded too bad on the Tubby video.
Last month when I listened to
Dooce on
NPR, I was blown away by her voice.
“That’s not Dooce!” I said. “That’s some GIRL!”
I don’t know, I just didn’t expect her to sound all girly. I think I expected her to sound like
Marge Simpson’s sisters.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“You know you want me.”
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Good for you and Fred making a decision and sticking by it and then doing something about it! You guys set a great example for me. Except in the area of having kids…I really, really want one. So, it doesn’t apply to that…but to others.
Oh man! You really cracked me up about Dooce’s voice!
I remember when my husband had his “snip job”. Heh We left the next day for Disneyland and he still curses the Teapots and the Roger Rabbit ride for making his poor sore testicles hurt so much! Ah what a dad won’t do for his kids….
Anyone who makes someone else feel bad for not having kids should be smacked.
Aw, Spanky is so beautiful.
If people don’t want kids, they shouldn’t have them. DUH! I can’t believe that people question the reproductive choices of others. Good on you guys.
Oh, you know – I’m sure people weren’t really questioning our decision or trying to make us feel bad (we don’t feel bad, in any case), they just wanted us to have a kid so they could share the experience – kind of the way I always want y’all to go out and adopt kittens and send me the pictures and tell me cute stories about them. They’re a little disappointed, but I doubt they’re crying themselves to sleep at night or anything. 🙂
Still don’t you feel a bit sad? My husband and I have been wrestling with the decision to have another baby and sometimes it makes me feel a bit sad to think that I might not have another one. I see women out with their babies in strollers at the mall and it makes me feel like I am missing something.
Robyn –
Did you mean “I’m sure people weren’t really questioning our decision or trying to make us feel bad” like the comment right above this one didn’t just try to do? 🙂
Jen: Honestly, not at all. I like to look at and play with little kids, but I’m just as happy to send them home. We really do like our life the way it is.
Fred: Hush, you. 🙂
I don’t think Jen was trying to make ya feel bad…
For better or worse you have let us have a little peek into your life and as a result, we care and we have opinions and we LOVE you!
I think many readers would agree that the thought of hearing your storys about 2am feedings and Fred vs poop is very enticing but I know you also know that WE know it IS yalls life, period. (sorry bout that wording)
So, if it is sad or pathetic that I wanted yall to have a baby, sorry. That being said, I agree with those who said “Good for YOU” for knowing what you want and NOT having a child that you don’t both 100% want. It’s too bad more people don’t make such wise decisions.
Will Fred write about the experience in excruciating (hee) detail? Because hubby and I are just about one more pregnancy scare away from him getting snipped and he’s a little apprehensive about the procedure.
I figure Fred’s experience could either a) help him, or b) scare the crap out of him, but 50/50 odds aren’t bad. 😉
(Never mind – I should really learn to FOLLOW LINKS and READ before I open my trap. Yeesh!)
Thank God! A blogger not afraid to admit she does NOT want children! We are such a rare breed, us women who are not reluctant to own up to the fact that babies just aren’t for us.
my sister gags over shitty diapers. no wonder she’s not much of a mother… hmmph.
I say more power to ya Robyn. DH and I have never wanted any kids, period… (OK, except lotsa fuzzy ones! 😉 ) And I’m SO not regretting it. I am Uber-Aunt to my sis’s kids, and it fills whatever small amount of kid-ness I was missing. 🙂
I guess my point being, like others have said… Your choice, and good for you for making it and folowing through on it. 🙂 Or at least poor widdah Fred following through! Hee! (Sorry Fred!) For what it’s worth, the comments of “Aren’t you going to have kids!?!!? Welll WHY NOT!?!?!?!” does seem to be tapering off some now that I’m 35… I figure by 40, everyone who thinks it’s their business will clam up! LOL!
And personally, I myself, would much rather hear the cat adventures than baby adventures any day! 🙂 (see why it was a good decision for me?)
Kitty
Oh Spanky, I DO!!!
😉 I would totally kidnap that cat.
Sorry, did that sound like a stalker? I’m just kidding… I have too many already!
I respect you and Fred’s decision not to reproduce–my only thought is that you all are smart and beautiful and just think what your offspring would have to offer the world!!!!!
Ah well, guess you guys will just have to continue on double to make up the smartness and beauty the world will be missing!!! 🙂
Well I have to admit it would be a blast to hear you and Fred blog about a baby and all the lovely adventures (wonderful and life sucking) she/he puts you through but OOOOKAY.. sigh (Geeze and I thought this was all about US! 😉
Good plan on the snipping. Hubby did it and for the first time in my life I can have UNPROTECTED SEX. And that, is a good thing 🙂 You’ll see.
Oh, and if starts any of that whining stuff my BIL did, I KNOW you will recount the joys of pregnancy, childbirth and the first year. Because women DESERVE that!
Can’t wait to read the details of the snipping! My husband had one a few years back, and the funniest thing is after about a month, they can move a certain way and you can just see them freeze in the misery and imagine “the boys” swaying in the wrong direction! Can’t even COMPARE that with the stiches women and childbirth merriment we endure.
AND! This is bugging the shit outta me! I run Windows 2000…WHY when I load your page, when it starts to load the right hand column, I get this error message: A Runtime Error has occurred. Do you wish to Debug? Line:1 Error: Syntax Error.
Inquiring minds wanna know!
Robyn it would be in your readers best interest to have a child named blog. Just because we want to hear your adventures. :)Sounds like a good reason to call of the snipping procedure to me!
Seriously I was going to write you about 6 months ago and say “Robyn I have an 10 year old and my husband and I decided ‘let reproduce’ (The now 11 year old is mine from prev relationship) so last year I had a baby and man oh man what was I thinking?? New baby is truly loved but good lord oh mighty! I’m still in shock and wonder what the hell?? After 10 years you forget the lack of sleep, the crying and where did my free time go? These babies not only need lots and lots of love but baths, and baby proofing the house, and the cat box has to be in a room with baby gates, you can’t let hairballs dry before picking them up…Spud is almost out of the house 🙂 If you have the urge you can adopt mine like one of those little african kids… I’ll start the price at $1.00 a month. I’ll send pics and you buy the rice 🙂
There are of course all of the cute things like the way he calls his daddy ‘mama’ and the way he yells ‘I!!!’ instead of Hi and how he lays on top of our cats and they lay there not caring. Its all very cute…but I understand deciding not wanting more- not that you wanted input 🙂
Sorry I was not meaning to judge or anything like that…just wondered if Robyn or Fred had a bit of regret or sadness about not having a baby together. Frankly I think they have a wonderful life and obviously it isn’t my place to tell them or anyone else what to do.