Project 52- Week 2

I'm still here. Still truckin.

And I'm still doing my Project 52. If I'd been on the ball you'd be getting a super cutie patootie picture of Bridget this week.

But since I've been burned by the pervs this week, I'm posting a different Week 2 picture.

Here's my husband. Frankly, if you want to get your rocks off while looking at him, feel free. I can't blame you. He's my Harlequin Man, you know.

This is our Crack House bathroom stripped of 100+ years of wallpaper, paint, and plaster. It's a glorious place to do some toileting these days.

I Should've Been a Food Blogger

A few years back I thought blogging about my family would be SO FUN! What a great way for all our long-distance relatives and old friends to see what was going on in our lives.

So I posted pictures of us.

There were pictures of ultrasounds, our dog, my growing baby belly.

Then there were pictures of the twins doing all their twinny kinds of things.

And somewhere along the way, strangers started tuning in. Which was cool. I started to make connections with people going through the same struggles of mothering.

But I wasn't totally naive. I have more knowledge about a certain population (*cough* pedophiles *cough*) than most people. I knew there were weirdos trolling the internet. And I've never hit POST without first considering what I was putting out there for the world to see.

And then yesterday happened.-  I stumble upon a picture I took of my kids where you can see their legs and they are messy. It's been taken and posted on a website where people are turning it into something truly sick. Something twisted. And I projectile vomited my coffee exorcist-style.

You can bet your tush I've been blaming myself. Did I serve up a pedophile poo-poo platter to the world when I made that post? I'm the one responsible. I would do anything to protect my children. I would die for them. I would lie in bed for 2 months for them. But I'm the one who put them at risk with this blog.

So the FBI has been notified and their child pornography taskforce is on the job. My pictures have  been removed and the user shut down after pulling out my Internet Mean Girl on their asses. And the fate of this blog remains unknown.

If it stays up, you can expect no pictures of my kids for a little while. You might get a lot of pictures of me. Or pictures of stick figures, but that's about it.

Of course, I'm sure there's someone out there with a stick figure fetish. If you can imagine it, there's someone who thinks it's sexy.

So learn from my mistakes. And here's a little PSA action for you:

1. Don't post any pictures of your children in any state of undress. Of course, this site had pictures of fully-dressed kids as well, so you can't ever be 100% safe as long as you're posting pictures, but it helps reduce the chances.

2. If you want to check your online photos, there are a few ways to do this:

• You can click and drag your pictures to your search toolbar.This will bring up any copies or similar images.
• You can right click on your picture, copy the url, and paste it in your search engine. This will bring up any copies.
• You can download a program, like TinEye, which will help you search for copies of your files

3.  You can make it more difficult to steal your photos by watermarking them or using a non-right-click script like this one.

4. Be a food blogger.

Is the internet a scary, fucked up kind of place? Yep. So is the world. It's only rational that the internet would reflect that. But the internet can also be great. I've met so many of you because of it.

Thank you to those of you who are cool and awesome and not pervy. For the rest of you, well this Mama Bear will cut you.

Release the Kraken

Today during my lunch break I was perusing a thread on Clickin Moms about this sociopath who has been stealing pictures from pros. It's been high drama which is kind of my lifelong vice. Part of the post was about how you can tell if your pictures are being taken.

So, I thought I'd check a few of my pictures.

(Hold on, while I remind myself to breathe for a moment)

Turns out 2 of my pictures were taken without my consent and posted on a website, operated by THESE FOLKS. First look and they appear to be a legit photo sharing website. But there appears to be a back site where people post pictures of children using the restroom or doing other innocent kiddy things and then make DISGUSTING, SEXUAL comments about them.

As my friend, Melinda, says, "Nothing like a pedophile to ruin a party."

So, I've scrubbed my blog of anything showing my kids in any state of undress. And, honestly, I'm thinking about taking down my blog.

In the meantime, feel free to contact the website administrator (who, FYI, emailed me to say I'm stupid because I can't read their FAQ that says no child pornography) Ummm???

Here's their contact info, feel free to express your profound regret that they don't monitor their site (ps- Be careful about harassment stuff, folks):

Twitter: https://twitter.com/imgsrc_ru
Email: skinny.bravo@gmail.com

And as a Captain Obvious PSA: Be careful about what you put on the interwebs (dur)

Podiatrist Please

* If feet make you squeamish, feel free to skip this post

This morning I noticed something...awry...with my left toenail. I needed advice, so I went to my #1 Man- My husband.

I texted him:

Me: Dude, my tonenail is totally coming off
Me: Like almost the whole thing
Me: Do you want to see a picture?

Brendan: No

Me: I'll take your pause as a yes (and then I sent a picture, which I'll spare you)
Me: What should I do???

Brendan: Eat it

I'm thinking about demoting my husband. His advice is not so good.

The Diva is Back

Thanks so much to everyone for your words of support and good thoughts over the past week and a half!

Cassidy came home after a full week (!) in the hospital and is in full-on diva mode now.

In the meantime, I've decided to start a Project 52 for 2013.  Here is your first installment:

Happy New Year!

Whoopi Dee Doo

Happy New Year, you crazy people, you.

I don't have a lot of time or energy these days, so here's a quick recap of our holiday and the twins' birthday.

2 words: They sucked.

Cassidy got sick on Sunday night before Christmas. Then Finn got sick on Christmas day. Cassidy was so listless she had only minimal interest in opening her presents. Most of the day was spent with the kids on the couch watching movies or napping. Bridget was also sick and blowing out every diaper. Ew.

Wednesday, Cassidy was coughing non-stop so we took her into the doctor.  Turns out her oxygen levels were really low and she has RSV so into the hospital she went.  Brendan mostly stayed with her because Bridget and I are still attached at the boob.

The twins' birthday on Saturday? We had cupcakes in the hospital with Cassidy. Only, she barely ate hers.

And now, a week later, she's still in the hospital. We're not sure when she's coming home.

So, happy new year.

Whoopi-dee-doo