My back has been hurting every day for the past four years.  I injured it while doing sit-ups with a weight on my stomach at some cardio-funk class in 2002.  At the time, I pinched a nerve and was howling so bad the on-site massage therapist offered to do something about it for free just so I would shut up. I couldn't turn my head until I went to a physical therapist.  This went on for three weeks. I learned at the time I had horrible posture and weak middle-back muscles.  Who knew you could work out your spinal cord?  I dutifully did all the exercises and now sit up reasonably straight, but still, the pain persisted.

In the last two months, it's gotten really intense. I've been doing crazy things like icing it for two hours a night and falling asleep with golf balls under my neck to try to relieve the pressure.  Right now you're scratching your head and wondering why I've never just gone to a chiropractor. 

Reason One:  My mother told me they are quacks when I was a child.  I should've known better (and she's recently recanted and told me that one of the reasons she thought this was that she lived near some chiropractic students when she was in college and they smoked pot).  This is the same woman who obeys all traffic laws and believes drinking alcohol before the age of twenty-one is a worse crime than Enron. (I kid my mother - she also taught many, many useful things about health and speeding.)

Reason Two:  Everyone I know who goes to a chiropractor is ADDICTED TO THE POPPING.  Seriously.  I didn't realize chiropractic was covered by insurance.  Even as it is, it's still $35 a pop (BWAH HA HA), and they want you to go, like, twelve times if it's a one.  So I was very afraid that this would turn into an expensive habit and what if, after all the monies and the pot-smoking I was still in pain? Well, WHAT IF?

But this week, it just hurt too bad. I went to a chiropractor yesterday.  She was not a witch doctor, nor did she laugh dastardly when she took my fragile neck into her hands.  She was a very young, very pleasant-looking redheaded woman who told me everything she was going to do and also told me that the lump I've always thought was a muscle knot is an out-of-place rib (WTF???? I forgot they attached in back) and that I have a whiplash injury.  The whiplash injury has made my neck straight instead of curved, so instead of the weight of my head resting on bone, it's being held in place by my very tired and cranky neck muscles.  No WONDER it hurts.  I've got a rib sticking into my back muscles and a straight neck.  The X-ray looked so weird I actually asked her if my head looks like it juts forward like that normally.  She gave me an odd look and said no. I think she might've been lying.

Good news, though - she also said she thought it could be fixed, fixed, fixed!  For the first time in four years, I allowed myself to really FEEL the pain in all its glory, so I could think about it going away.  I realized I've been consciously trying to tune it out because I was deathly afraid it would be with me forever.  Knowing it could leave made me realize how much it really, really fucking hurts.  A lot.  WAH.

I go back Saturday.  She may offer me some pot or some crack or whatever they do to actually seal the addiction deal, but I don't even care.  If she can fix my back, I will kiss her, even though I already inappropriately told her that if she really wants to have a baby immediately after marrying her fiance who just got out of the army today, she should try every other day on days 10 through 21 of her cycle.  And then she looked at my like I was crazy again and popped my neck.

The end. Have a good weekend.

The underground parking rates at Boston Common Garage are well worth the fun of Frog Pond and Frog Pond Park. In the winter Frog Pond is a famous skating rink; in the summer, the pond is a place for kids to cool off. The Frog Pond spray pool and wading program is open daily from 11 am to 6 pm (free of charge) until Labor Day. Call 617-635-2120 for updated information.

Before or after dipping in the pond, check out the awesome Frog Pond Park two steps away. This terrific playground has lots of cool structures to explore, including what my yummy niece called the “frog potty” (frog sculpture holding a life preserver).

The underground parking rates at Boston Common Garage are well worth the fun of Frog Pond and Frog Pond Park. In the winter Frog Pond is a famous skating rink; in the summer, the pond is a place for kids to cool off. The Frog Pond spray pool and wading program is open daily from 11 am to 6 pm (free of charge) until Labor Day. Call 617-635-2120 for updated information.

Before or after dipping in the pond, check out the awesome Frog Pond Park two steps away. This terrific playground has lots of cool structures to explore, including what my yummy niece called the “frog potty” (frog sculpture holding a life preserver).

Cotton diapers have obvious benefits: they save trees, lessen landfills, and cut taxpayers’ costs. But it’s tough to face the rigorous routine required to launder cloth diapers at home. It’s one thing to deal with a big baby blowout in the moment, it’s another thing to deal with it again at the laundry machine.

Enter Changing Habits diaper service operated out of Deerfield, MA. The owner, Donna Grybko, is a bit of a kooky koala bear but boy, is she committed to cloth diapers. She even arrived on our doorstep with the first delivery to give us a cloth diaper demo. We loved the service and it was reliable and efficient on all counts.

Changing Habits travels many miles to serve towns in Western Massachusetts and Middlesex County. Check the website for town listings then call to confirm that they can service your address.

Cotton diapers have obvious benefits: they save trees, lessen landfills, and cut taxpayers’ costs. But it’s tough to face the rigorous routine required to launder cloth diapers at home. It’s one thing to deal with a big baby blowout in the moment, it’s another thing to deal with it again at the laundry machine.

Enter Changing Habits diaper service operated out of Deerfield, MA. The owner, Donna Grybko, is a bit of a kooky koala bear but boy, is she committed to cloth diapers. She even arrived on our doorstep with the first delivery to give us a cloth diaper demo. We loved the service and it was reliable and efficient on all counts.

Changing Habits travels many miles to serve towns in Western Massachusetts and Middlesex County. Check the website for town listings then call to confirm that they can service your address.

Think you have all the latest gadgets? The July/August 2006 issue of Cookie Magazine features a potty that looks like an iMac. The Boon Potty Bench is available for $29.99 at TargetTarget or Amazon and features side storage for supplies, pull out drawer for easy clean up, toilet paper holder, splash guard for the gents, and best of all: the “large, sturdy bench can support up to 300 lbs.” Whoa. That’s one sturdy toddler.

Think you have all the latest gadgets? The July/August 2006 issue of Cookie Magazine features a potty that looks like an iMac. The Boon Potty Bench is available for $29.99 at TargetTarget or Amazon and features side storage for supplies, pull out drawer for easy clean up, toilet paper holder, splash guard for the gents, and best of all: the “large, sturdy bench can support up to 300 lbs.” Whoa. That’s one sturdy toddler.

Distraction is a masterful tool in the mama arsenal. When your babe next experiences teething pain, try Healthy Times’ Premium Organic Biscuits. These kosher hard baked teething biscuits satisfy baby’s need to bite down, dissolve slowly, and are soy-, wheat- and dairy-free. Pick up a box at your local Whole Foods Market; alternatively, vanilla or maple are available at Amazon.

Have a camera ready for cute photo ops. Our 7.5 month old spent nearly an hour (I kid you not) working on her first biscuit; by the end she was a very happy and messy baby – teething woes were long forgotten!

Nothing dresses up a room and hides baby-induced stains quicker and more economically than throw pillows. Pier 1 Imports has a dizzying array of eye-popping pillows, such as the fresh and fabulous Loft 21 Floral Pillow (shown). This pillow is priced at the higher end of Pier 1’s collection ($30), but you can snatch up sale pillows for as low as $5-10.

Head over to a local store, or check out the collection online; the online search engine (keyword: “pillows”) also leads you to coordinating décor selections.