Pet Peeves: The Children

I adore them. They conspire to drive me crazy.

I love my children as much as you love yours, which is a lot. A ton. Infinity tons, really. But there are a few, just a few, things they do that drive me up the wall.

1. Making the same sound over and over. I don't know why it's fun to say a word or make a noise repeatedly and loudly. I always think to myself, "Don't say anything. They will stop soon" and they never do, then act totally surprised when I finally yell "CUT IT OUT!"

2. Calling me from the next room. They had not one single word to say to me the entire time I was sitting right next to them, but the moment I cross the invisible line to the next room, it's "Hey Mom!"


3. Continuing to call when I don't answer. Here's a perfect example: I'm in the laundry room upstairs, and Sean is in the kitchen downstairs. He wants to know if we have turkey. "Mom!" I hear him of course, but why would I scream a conversation from the laundry room to the kitchen? But instead of then coming to find me, he keeps calling, "Mom! Mom! Mom!" for the next 3 minutes, in which time he could have come up to the laundry room, gone back, and made himself a delicious turkey sandwich.

4. Putting the shoes next to the closet. The entrance to our house from the garage (where we usually come in) is exactly 12 inches away from the shoe closet. That means that you need to take exactly one step in the door, open the closet, and throw your shoes in. One swift, graceful motion is all it takes, yet the kids can never seem to remember the part where you have to open the door and instead throw the shoes onto the floor directly in front of the closet. No partial credit, people.

5. Watch those knees/elbows! This is more of a little kid thing but my 8-year-old still doesn't think twice about using my ribs as the resting spot for his elbow when he decides to get up from the couch. He also tends to just roll upside down and flail his legs at random intervals, usually in the middle of a board game or while watching television. This always ends up in a cat tearing out of the room and/or someone being kicked in the face.


6. Where's the turkey/lettuce/cookies/tortillas/raisins/etc. It's right there, on the second shelf, behind one other thing that you never bothered to move. I wish I could say it gets better but my husband is just as bad about this as the 8-year-old.

And of course I wouldn't trade them for the world, and even as I write this, I can't imagine them growing up and not needing me for the little things anymore. But being able to laugh at our children is really why we had them in the first place, right?

Pet Peeves: The Grocery Store

Ah yes. The grocery store. If driving there doesn't get your pet peeve ire up, then an hour of shopping will.

Janet's Top 5 Grocery Store Pet Peeves

Parking the cart. Why oh why do people stop their carts in the middle of the aisle (usually at an angle so I can't get around them) and then either just stand there for no reason at all or float off to browse the shelves?


Samples. The sample table is the bane of my grocery store existence. Especially at Costco, where people abandon their double-wide carts anywhere and stand there, waiting for those chicken nuggets to be done so they can eat half of one for free. If they were selling them for 5 cents each, I guarantee nobody would buy one.

Cutting the line. This one is courtesy of my friend Macie, who hates nothing more than when she's standing in line, a new checkstand opens up, and the people behind her rush over to get in first. A little consideration, people!


Standing too close. And speaking of standing in line, do not breathe down my neck and do not bump the back of my legs with your cart. Standing closer does not mean you will be done faster. As my daughter says, "Respect the bubble!"

Be ready. When the checker has completed your order, that is not the time to start rummaging in your purse for your store card and then start thinking about how you'd like to pay. This sounds sexist, but when choosing a line I try to pick the one with the most men in it, because they rarely have a store card and they nearly always pay in cash.

I know I said 5 things, but I just remembered one more that I really hate:

Checker and clerk social hour. I don't mind if you guys chat a little, but when you completely ignore me to have an entire conversation about what you did last night, how tired you are, or worst of all, how disgruntled you are at your job, it's completely rude.

Have I covered them all? Do you have others to add?

Pet Peeves: Sounds That Make Your Skin Crawl

OK, so the old fingernails on a blackboard is pretty much right up there in sounds that hurt my teeth, but there are so many more. Topping the list:

A bicycle kickstand scraping on asphalt.

A knife scraping against a ceramic plate.

And number one by a mile:

The sound of an egg carton (cardboard is bad, styrofoam is worse) rubbing against a paper grocery bag.

Max hates the sound of silverware rubbing together, but what a coincidence--putting away silverware from the dishwasher happens to be his chore.

Sean's vote: his sister singing Glee karaoke.

What sounds make you squirm?

Pet Peeves: Technology

Today's topic in our ongoing "Pet Peeves" series: Technology. I'll start.

I really hate it when a customer at the cash register answers the phone in the middle of a transaction. So the cashier is supposed to stand there and wait for you to finish your conversation, and then you can tell her what you want? And the delay of her work and all the people standing in line isn't even the worst part--it's the fact that you are interacting with a human being and you are letting them know that they can wait because you've got something better to do. It all boils down to consideration--actually considering the feelings of someone else.

Now I'm all riled up...here are some others from my blog friends.

Remaking Memories said... I have a long list, but I'll keep it short. Ladies - please, get off your phone when you're using a public restroom. It's rude to the person on the phone and to the other ladies in the restroom. And it gives me stage fright.

Monkey Sews said...One of my pet peeves is people who sit with you at a table with earbuds in! Do you talk to them? Are they busy? It's rude people!

Lulu Grey said... A pet peeve of mine is (and this just happened, so it is top of mind) people who play with their smart phones during business meetings. You can put down fruit ninja for a second - you know.

And from my brother: People who post everywhere they are on FB. I had one friend post his entire trip up the coast, from San Diego up to Thousand Oaks. So and so is at the checkpoint. So and so is at the nuclear power station. So and so is passing San Clemente. And on and on and on. Filled my whole first page. Once in awhile, but come on.

What are yours? Also, now taking suggestions for new Pet Peeve topics, so please leave 'em in the comments and if I use yours, I'll link it to your blog or shop.

Pet Peeves: Driving

I'm delighted to post a new entry in what has become a regular feature of this blog, "Pet Peeves." It seems that lots of you like complaining just as much as I do. Yay! Complaining's the best.

Today we'll talk about driving pet peeves. Here are a couple from my blogworld friends:

SibStudio said...

My pet peeve is right from this morning - good grief how hard is it to flip on the turn signal so I know why you just stopped for no reason in the middle of the lane!

By the Book Paper said...

What I thought of today (because I experienced it) is people who are going to turn when driving but do not fully make it into the turn lane so you cannot get past them. That is what they make a separate lane for!

This one is pretty similar to my own biggest driving pet peeve: When you are in the right lane (but there is no dedicated right-turn lane) and going straight, leave enough room for people to get past you so they can turn right.

And another thing. When it's your right of way, take it. Sometimes I get behind someone who slams on their brakes for no apparent reason and then I realize it's to let someone at a stop sign/light/driveway pull out. It's not nice, it's not thoughtful, it's just dangerous to all the other drivers expecting you to follow the rules!

Finally, and I know this one is common, don't go under the speed limit. When I lived in Hawaii they posted a minimum speed right under the maximum speed on the freeway. Genius.

And even though my daughter is only 12, she just looked over my shoulder as I was writing this and spouted off one of her own: "When your mom and dad freak out about someone else's driving and that's all they can talk about for 10 minutes." She's grounded.

What's your biggest driving pet peeve?

Pet Peeves: Grammar

You have no idea how much I enjoyed reading the pet peeves you all mentioned in your comments to my post a few days ago. It's been so fun, I'm going to do (at least) a couple more, starting with a subject close to my heart, grammar.

And to get the party started, here's a gem from Frances at il*mostro:

"Just this morning I read a comment saying "another words" instead of "in other words" which bothered me more than I care to admit, but #1 on my list is when people type "should of" "would of" or "could of" instead of should've, would've or could've. It drives me nuts!!"

Here are some of mine:

Misuse of the word "literally." This one is so hilariously annoying that my brother Ducky and I regularly email each other with the latest ones we've heard. I'll do a whole post about this one soon, but for now, two of my all-time favorites:

He literally wore his heart on his sleeve.
He was literally the black sheep of the family.

It's sales, not sells. You don't make a sell, you make a sale. It's extremely common in the Etsy forums and makes my teeth hurt.

Alot. This one bugs me. A lot.

Misuse of Apostrophes--where to begin? The one that comes immediately to mind is "The Johnson's." The Johnson's what?

Oh, and along that line...misplacement of apostrophes. You have to put the apostrophe in place of the missing letter, not just any ol' (see how that works?) place.

Correct: Y'all
Incorrect: Ya'll

And finally, irregardless is not a word.

What are your grammar pet peeves? (And if you tell me your driving pet peeves too, I'll include them in next week's post, along with a link to your blog or shop.)

Pet Peeves

Pet peeves. Mine are infinitely numerous and varied. I've tried to pare my list down to the ones that are really important so you'll still like me after I'm done ranting.

Chefs who taste their own food at the end of their TV show. We know they’re going to say it’s delicious, and I can also do without the yummy noises that accompany the tasting.

Fortune cookies that analyze your character instead of telling your fortune.

Acceptable: You will win the lottery tomorrow.

Unacceptable: You have a winning personality.

I know what I’m like; just tell me what’s gonna happen to me.

Toy packaging. Twisty ties. Need I say more?

People who ask if you’ve seen a certain show/movie/commercial, and when you say yes, they proceed to describe it in detail. Yeah, I know. I saw it. Remember you just asked me that?

Checkout clerks who ask, “Did you find everything you were looking for?” and then if you say “Actually, I couldn’t find the okra,” they make a sympathetic clucking sound and that’s the end of it.

Vanity plates that describe the car. You paid how much to get a personalized plate that says BLUEBMW? I can see that.

It’s supposedly, not supposably.

I’ve got a million more, so maybe we can make this an ongoing series, and I'll include yours too. Am I the only one? I can't be the only one. Let's hear your pet peeves!