Dude! Britney's 16-year-old sister is pregnant [link] Their mother should win a prize or something...

I can't imagine having Britney to look up to as the big sis role model all my life.

I guess that proves the supposition I've heard that Jamie Lynn only looks so well put-together because she's still under the parents' control...

Hey guys - thanks for all the well-wishes, here and in Bitches. (Where I am currently several million posts behind, but they're all on topics I don't want to skip or skim, so here I am.)

Traveling with the baby went as smoothly as we could have expected, given that we had all of 12 hours to prepare. We rented a carseat (which was delivered to Enterprise before my dad picked the car up) and the hotel had a portable crib, so we were set there. One of my mom's cousins brought a playard over to my grandmother's house so D could take his naps there. We didn't know what the laundry situation would be at the hotel, so we bought a pack of disposables to get us through the 4 days, which worked out fine.

The worst part (travelwise) was the flight out - Cincy was in-between snowpocalypses and NYC was perfectly clear, but our flight was still mysteriously delayed almost 3 hours, during which we were told every five minutes that we would be boarding "in just a few minutes!" And because we thought we'd be boarding "in just a few minutes!" D wound up skipping lunch and getting very cranky, and finally falling asleep on the floor (I put him down on my coat), only to be rudely woken up again 20 minutes later when we finally did board for real. He slept through about half the flight and some of the car ride to the hotel, but the combination of being completely off his nap schedule and skipping 2 solid meals and being put to bed 3 hours late and the hotel room being twelve thousand degrees...well, suffice to say none of us got more than about 90 minutes of continuous sleep on Saturday night.

Jess, I hope you get a LOT of good sleep tonight.

This students problem was these teachers deliberately sought him out on campus and he felt very uncomfortable by their "overwhelming concern." He went so far to say it felt a little like harassment.

Can't say I disagree. However unintentional, that's way over the line.

At that age I'm not sure how I would have responded, but it sure as hell wouldn't have been by shaping up.

(I think I'd feel better about a birthday gift because at least then you're not asking people to chip in when they're already almost certainly strapped for cash. But then, in my office, most birthday collections are a couple of bucks for a card and a cake.)

Back to the boss discussion - this is an interesting distinction that I think we've left out. An individual gift to the boss is a totally different thing than a group collection for a gift to the boss - the one is personal, reasonable, and very often, IME, merited. It's the group thing, which is almost always subtly if not overtly coercive that draws all the ire. Anyhoo, I'm sorry if Drew and other bosses around here feel like they're getting hit by shrapnel. I know you understand it's not directed at you but I know it can still sting.

I got a gift from one person who works for me, but told another directly (the criminally underpaid 24 year old one) that she should never feel like she has to give anything to anyone she works for. And I've given presents to bosses! But it's like other people have said, I was giving it to the person, not The Boss. I think the group thing becomes a gift to The Boss, not a gift to Joanne or whoever. If that makes any sense.

That sounds like a nightmare, Jess. I'm glad you're all home safe. (I do realize that the suckfest you describe was days ago.)

Jess, I'm glad that the travel went so well, all things considered. But I am so sorry for your loss. I know it's always hard to lose someone you love, but it's so very hard when it's around the holidays.

I am not incontinent.

I had turned on the heating pad for my feet and forgotten about it.

Later, I sat down on it without realizing it. And had this horrible hypochondriac fear .

But no, I was just sitting on a heating pad.

Man, that would have never occurred to me when I was younger.

Ha! The first time I got in a car with heated seats (without knowing it), I thought I was having a stroke or something.