Reading Roundup--June

I ended up watching a lot of movies this month; I also watched seasons 2 and 3 of ER on DVD, so I haven't spent as much time reading. Plus I was a little disappointed in just about everything I read this month. Hopefully July will be a bit more fruitful in the book recommendation department.

The Swan House by Elizabeth Musser
I haven't read much Christian fiction before, and it wasn't until I got this book home from the library that I realized it was from Bethany House. It turned out to be a pretty good read, although it was slow and long in parts. The book felt a little dialogue heavy, and a lot of that dialogue was an attempt to approximate Black Vernacular English that didn't always feel authentic. It was a good, uplifting sort of story once I got into it.


The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue
This was a newer book that follows the trend of mixing elements from fairy tales with contemporary life. Alternating chapters tell the story of a boy who is kidnapped by fairies and replaced with a "changeling". I thought it was a decently written book and I enjoyed it, but I probably wouldn't read it again.


The Way we Never Were: American Families and the Nostalgia Trap by Stephanie Coontz
This book is heavy on statistics and dates from the early 1990s, so that made some parts of it difficult to read. Also, I didn't always agree with the author's interpretation of the statistics. But it was still an interesting read and I especially liked her central point that too often we rely on assumptions and stereotypes about the past that are just incorrect.


My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
I have had numerous friends recommend Potok to me and tell me how much they love his books. I really struggled to like this one, and I thought the writing was great. But I never liked the main character very much, and I also managed to end without really understanding the world of art or the world of Judaism. Maybe I just read this book at the wrong point in my life, because I sympathized with the parents more than with Asher.

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan
This was a fun little book that I read in a few hours. The story of a woman who was both very traditional (she didn't drive, had 10 kids, etc.) and yet very willing to do her own thing was inspiring to me. The book was well-written too, which was good because it could have easily become overly sentimental.

A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
Another quick little read, but also very entertaining. The author manages to write about her rather average girlhood in a way that is interesting and insightful. It kept making me wonder if I could recall incidents from my childhood in such detail. Probably not.

Movies

You Can Count on Me
This movie was a lot like a well-written short story: it was mainly good for its acting and dialogue, without a strong plot or fabulous cinematography. It felt very true to life and I enjoyed it.

Maria Full of Grace
I liked this movie a lot too; again, it was the acting by the main character that really was the best part of it. It also made me nostalgic for my mission. I didn't serve in Colombia, but I worked with immigrants from all over Latin America that reminded me of the characters in this movie.

The Graduate
I mainly watched this in order to increase my cultural literacy, but I really enjoyed it. The camera work was interesting, the music was perfect, and I enjoyed the irony.


Love Actually
Sometimes it's nice to watch a good, fluffy movie. This one is perfect and I enjoyed most of it. Hugh Grant as the prime minister was completely unbelievable, but that didn't matter since he still managed to be charming.

American Beauty
I ended up watching this movie twice; I liked it that much. I'd heard about it a few years ago when it was new and cool, but for some reason the description really didn't appeal to me. It turns out to be a very interesting, thought-provoking movie. It's also a rather dark movie, but somehow you come away at the end feeling enlightened somehow.

Hero
I checked this out because I'd read a review proclaiming that it was better than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. So of course that caught my eye and I had to see for myself. I'm not sure I could say it was better, but it's at least as good. For one thing, it's gorgeous. And the plot has a lot of interesting twists and turns. I just wished they had subtitled the beginning introduction since I had no idea if that was important to read or not.

It's a Small World

When I first started blogging two years ago I had a small circle of friends that were doing it. Then it suddenly seemed like that circle blossomed to include just about everyone I knew. I love blogging as a way to keep in touch with old friends as well as to make new ones. At the same time, I rarely share my blog with people that I know in person and see on a regular basis (except for Master Fob, of course). However, I still like to follow links from random blogs I find to see if I run into anyone I know. Tonight I stumbled upon a cluster of blogs from people in my ward. Most are fairly new to the blogging world, so it's not surprising that I didn't find them sooner. Now I wonder if I should open myself up to them or not. I feel like we are friends, but at the same time there is a lot on this blog that I haven't really shared in public. How open do I want to be? Despite the fact that this blog is a public space, I often forget that there are plenty of people who read it that I don't know about. I try to be careful about ranting too much about those I know, because I never know if they will find me or not. At the same time, opening myself up to them might make for greater friendship. There's really only one way to find out.

Oh, and BYU just emailed to let me know that my thesis is officially available online for all to read. You can find it here (click on the "access this item" to open a PDF). I don't expect you to actually read it, since it is 64 pages long, but I just wanted to brag that I actually wrote all of it. If you find typos, please don't tell me. I don't want to know.

A nice combination

Breyers french vanilla ice cream, dark chocolate-covered pretzels, and ER season three on DVD. You know, back in the day I always was in love with Dr. Ross, but I've now decided that Dr. Carter is my favorite. He's cute, good with kids, and even when he acts like a jerk it's hard to hold it against him because at least he's not as bad as Dr. Benton.

Torn

So far I've eliminated two of the job options I had last week. The word processing job never emailed me back, but I noticed the other day that they had relisted it on craigslist. I assume that means I'm probably not still in the running. I interviewed for the library one, but the next day I called and let them know that I wasn't interested. That was hard, because it sounded like a good job. But they wanted to me work at least two nights a week (until 9) and every other weekend. I just don't feel like doing that, especially not for the pay they are offering. That leaves option number 2, the registrar's office position. My interview went well and I think it sounds like a fun job and a good place to work. However, I now have an interview on Wednesday for an adjunct teaching position. It would be two nights a week, starting in September. It's also at a college that's fairly far south of here, so those two nights would involve a lot of driving. I really don't know that I could work full-time as well as teach two nights a week. It feels like way too much, especially with two little kids. On the other hand, good part-time jobs can be hard to find. If they offer me the position at the registrar's office, it would be really hard to say no. If nothing else, that would end the whole stupid job searching process. But I'm getting really scared about working full-time, especially if picking up some adjunct classes is a viable option. I think I should teach because that is the career path I want to follow, so teaching an adjunct class would really strengthen my resume. It's so hard to decide!

A dinner the whole family can love

Since I seem to have nothing more significant to say, I will sing the praises of Trader Joe's again. Last week I spied these little ravioli on the shelf and thought they seemed like something the kids would like. I was right; they were the perfect size for S-Boogie to eat and she loved the idea of little noodles filled with cheese (half the eating battle is just getting her to try new things). Little Dude also loved the ravioli, and I even thought they were pretty good too. So that is your spiritual thought for Sunday; nurture your family by finding good, nutritious food that they'll actually eat. Then sit back, watch your children scarfing down their dinner, and congratulate yourself on being an excellent parent.

Happy, Happy Blog-day Foxy Dear

Tomorrow marks the second anniversary of my blog. I had no idea where my life would go when I started this blog, and it's fun for me to read back through the archives and remember feelings and events that I have already forgotten. I think the most surprising thing about blogging that I have discovered is the sense of community. I have about fifty blogs that I follow somewhat regularly; many of them are people I haven't ever met in person. I still consider them to be my friends. I've been very grateful for all the virtual support I've received from so many people who don't really even "know" me.

Miss Nemesis recently celebrated her blog's special day by asking lurkers to come out of the woodwork and reveal who they were and how they found her blog. She got 52 comments. If you want to make my day, see if you can top her numbers. Maybe then I can change my blognym to "Queen of the Universe".

The World's Rudest Receptionist

Even though I should be doing other things, I can't let this go without blogging about it. I just got a call from a job to schedule an interview. I'm not going to give other details about it so it doesn't come back to bite me. But, I'm already not sure if I want to work with the person who just called me.

First of all, when I picked up the phone it was somewhat faint and crackly. We have some kind of problem with our phone line in this apartment; we've bought three different phones since living here and none of them work well. Apparently I didn't respond quickly enough to something this girl said, since she suddenly said "Hel-o-o! Can you hear me?" in a very rude voice. Usually when I explain that my phone is having a little trouble, most people respond with sympathy and speak a little more loudly. This girls seemed to take my phone problems as a personal insult.

She then announced that she would call me back. I went in the other room and answered the wall phone, which sometimes doesn't work either. This time it did, although things were a little faint still. She then said something like "Gosh, what's wrong with your phone? It still sounds funny". I didn't know what to say; I would have preferred to just get the appointment made and get off the phone with Rude Girl (her whole tone during the interview was really rude and short). At the end of the call she said "You need to get a new phone, OK?" Uh yeah, you're really going to make me want to work there with that kind of interaction.

This is why I've started calling people on my cell phone now that I have one. And it's also why I'm extremely frustrated about the job search. If Rude Girl can get a job, why can't I? Maybe I need to learn to be a bit more rude.

Compadecer="Suffer with"

I was feeling a little reluctant to go to church today. It was partly because I've been feeling a little down over the general state of things. I'd planned on only staying in the ward for a little while before finding a job and moving on. Instead, I get to spend each week pretending that everything is normal and answering people's chatty questions with fake answers while hoping no one asks where my husband is. Some people in the ward have asked, and I have told them because I trust them. And I'm getting a little more accepting of my new reality. But mostly I feel conspicuous and weird at church because I know most people wonder what's going on and I don't feel like becoming the subject of ward gossip. But that wasn't the point of my post at all.

I was also a little nervous about going because today is Father's Day. A good friend told me that he wasn't very enthused about today either because of issues from his past, so it's good to know that I'm not alone in my reluctance. Thankfully our ward decided to keep things subdued and we only had two fatherhood talks (one from a youth speaker) and then a high council speaker who talked about Christ's parables. The lady who spoke on fatherhood impressed me, particularly with her thoughts that we should love and support all the men in our lives, whether they are in the Church or not. We should look for the good in them and praise it. I was also surprised when she said she had asked her son to sing as part of her talk. I was bracing myself for something sappy when he suddenly started singing:

Each life that touches ours for good
Reflects thine own great mercy, Lord;
Thou sendest blessings from above
Thru words and deeds of those who love.

What greater gift dost thou bestow,
What greater goodness can we know
Than Christlike friends, whose gentle ways
Strengthen our faith, enrich our days.

When such a friend from us departs,
We hold forever in our hearts
A sweet and hallowed memory,
Bringing us nearer, Lord, to thee.

For worthy friends whose lives proclaim
Devotion to the Savior’s name,
Who bless our days with peace and love,
We praise thy goodness, Lord, above.

I've always thought it's a shame that most people consider this hymn as only appropriate for funerals. I think it's a beautiful reflection on the people who touch our lives, even if only for a moment. It's a reminder to me of our capacity to do good with even a kind word or smile. Today in the hall at church I was talking to one of my neighbors when I happened to mention that Little Dude's ear seemed to be bothering him. My neighbor is a med student and offered to come over after church and take a look at things for me (he did, and Little Dude's ears do look a bit red and waxy). This was a kind gesture, and one of those little things that meant a lot.

Also, after church we had a little "linger longer", where we were invited to eat snacks and get to know each other. I ended up sitting by a family I didn't really know well but had seen around the building a few times. When I asked them about why they had moved here, they explained that they were actually staying in town for their youngest daughter to receive cancer treatments at Children's Hospital. I fumbled around trying to find the right thing to say and spent the rest of the time worrying that I hadn't said the right thing at all. When they asked about me, for some reason I mentioned that I was separated from my husband. The woman looked at me and said "I'm so sorry". She went on to say that she knew the Lord would bless me and that hard times would be OK; as she put it, "sorrow is sorrow and the Lord understands that life gets messy sometimes." I don't even remember her name and I'm not sure if I'll see her family at church again. But it deeply touched me that she reached out with empathy and love to me, despite her own difficult circumstances.

People keep asking if there is something they can do for me. Most of the time I don't have anything to suggest. I think their willingness to ask is one of the more important things to do. I appreciate the impulse to reach out and help. I appreciate it when people are real and trust me with their feelings, and let me know that I can trust them to listen to mine. I appreciate it when people offer a Christ-like example of love and "devotion to the Savior's name". So even if you might only be in a person's life for a little while, that is still enough time to touch that life for good.

Recovering

I spent yesterday in my pajamas trying not to throw up. Thankfully I didn't, although that may be due to the fact that I hardly ate anything all day. I felt horribly tired and achey, so I took a hot bath and went to bed early. Then I slept for eleven hours and woke up feeling much better today.

Master Fob was very nice and came over at six o'clock yesterday morning when I called for help. S-Boogie didn't sleep well at all. She threw up again after she decided she needed a drink at two o'clock in the morning. Unfortunately she missed the bowl and got her bed instead. Little Dude slept through that, but then decided he needed to wake up at five-thirty with diarrhea. I was feeling too tired and nauseated to deal with both kids at six, so I was glad for the help.

I am grateful to whoever it was who gave me the double sheet suggestion. I layer one sheet directly on the kids' mattresses, then top it with the mattress pad and another sheet. Then if there's some kind of incident in the middle of the night (leaky diaper, barf, etc), it's easy to take off the top layer and have an extra sheet already in place. You don't have to wrestle with making the bed at two in the morning. I used to have a mattress pad under the first sheet as well, but it got too bulky and their mattresses are plastic anyways.

Also, if you have small children, you should keep a bottle of "pet stain" carpet cleaner on hand. It's great for getting potty accidents and barf out of carpet and couch cushions.

And, if you're already feeling like crap, you really shouldn't watch romantic comedies set during Christmas. It's a good movie, but the timing probably wasn't the best.

Sometimes things just get worse

So Little Dude never puked again after Monday night. But then he developed nasty diarrhea and I've spent the last few days changing his entire outfit four or five times a day. I think my washing machine is going to collapse from fatigue.

Then this afternoon S-Boogie started telling me that her tummy hurt. I was thinking diarrhea, so I just told her to go lie down on the couch. She fell asleep for a while. The she suddenly woke up and started spewing all over the couch. If you think curdled milk and cantaloupe baby puke is nasty, you should try peanut butter sandwich/yogurt/oranges puke. Nice.

So now my house smells like vomit and I'm starting to feel a little queasy myself. I don't know if it's just from the smell, but I have a sinking feeling that my vigorous and frequent handwashing has done me no good at all.

Love/Hate

Since Vanessa did it:

25 Things I Love

1. Blogging and reading other people's blogs
2. Dark chocolate
3. Insightful, well-made films
4. Ice cream
5. Olives
6. Spain
7. The ocean
8. Cheese
9. Hot showers
10. Scrabble
11. Trivia contests (College Bowl, Jeopardy!, etc.)
12. CSI (the original)
13. Sleeping late
14. Playing the piano, especially accompanying friends who sing or play instruments
15. Jigsaw puzzles
16. Dancing to Latin or techno music (as long as it's in a crowd and the room is somewhat dark)
17. Cuddling with my kids
18. Cooking for people
19. Warm brownies
20. Swimming
21. Flannel pajama pants
22. Sunsets
23. Wood floors
24. A cool breeze coming through an open window
25. Tulips and daffodils in the springtime

25 Things I Hate

1. Carbonated beverages
2. Exhaust fumes
3. Loud, annoying music
4. Rude, entitled people
5. Pants that are too tight
6. Uncomfortable underwear
7. Hot food that burns your tongue
8. Running
9. Cleaning the bathroom
10. Getting up in the middle of the night
11. Hypocrites
12. Confronation
13. Being in charge
14. Crying and whining
15. Snow
16. Strong cheeses
17. Morcilla
18. PMS
19. Spit, especially when people spit in public or when they brush their teeth while I'm in the bathroom
20. Parallel parking
21. Paper cuts
22. Dealing with health insurance
23. Bad haircuts
24. Airport security
25. Shaving my legs

Counting My Chickens

Suddenly, I'm popular. I just got a phone call from a job wanting to interview me, and I have another interview next Wednesday. I also interviewed for a job about two weeks ago; when I emailed them yesterday they said they were still interviewing a few more people and would let me know.

Job #1 is a word processing job at an accounting firm. The interview went well and it seems like a nice place to work. The pay is really good too. However, I don't have the specialized skills in Word that they want, and although I could learn, if they find someone with more experience they'll probably hire that person instead. It's also not my ideal career path, but I think I would enjoy it.

Job #2 is my interview next week. It's a position in the registrar's office at one of the private universities here in Seattle. I would be counseling students and faculty on graduation requirements and such. The pluses are that it would be a good career path and I think that I would enjoy it. But it's here in the city and the pay is not quite high enough to make it really worth it. If they offered it to me, I probably would take it and live a little further outside of town.

Job #3 is my interview on Friday. It's an entry-level position at the library of a college on the Eastside. It would also be a fun experience and a good start on a potentially worthwhile career. However, the pay is pretty low since it's a "starter position". But I could work there for a while to gain more library experience and then transfer somewhere else with better pay.

I think I'm pretty qualified for any of these positions so I just hope interviews go well. The hardest thing will be having to pick if I get offered more than one. More realistically, I'm worried about getting an offer from one before I hear from the others. I don't know how to handle this job search thing very well.

Deja Vu

We had our first experience with late-night vomiting shortly after S-Boogie turned one. I heard her crying in her crib one night, and when I went in to check I realized quickly that something was horribly wrong. Thankfully we only really had a few more incidents with her; my life has been vomit-free for about two years now.

Until last night. I had finished cleaning the kitchen and was just sitting down to start watching a movie when I heard Little Dude crying. That's not so unusual these days, so I went in to check on him. He was standing up in his crib. I picked him up, cuddled his head against my chest, and suddenly realized that the room smelled horrible. I turned on the light and saw that he was covered in vomit and was kindly rubbing it on my shirt. The crib was covered with it. He'd managed to do it in a corner of the crib and get it down the wall and the floor too. Nice.

I got everything in the washer and gave him a quick bath and clean pajamas. We sat down to watch my movie and then he slept for about an hour before waking up to barf again. I had grabbed a towel, but wasn't quite quick enough and he got barf all over my shirt and his pajamas. We changed again, and this time I covered myself with the towel before laying him on my chest. He barfed a little more, but then settled down to sleep. I crossed my fingers and put him in bed, where he slept until 5:30 this morning. When he got up I could tell he was very hungry and thirsty. So I wrapped myself in a towel again and gave him some watered-down juice. He kept that down for an hour while we dozed on the couch, so I relented and gave him his morning milk. So far, so good. I hope it was just the fact that he ate a ton of cantaloupe for dinner. Or maybe there's just some sort of inner timing that says that when you are 12 1/2 months old you must spend the night vomiting.

You'd think by this point they'd pay me to leave

In case you didn't know already, graduating from college is not free. It's even worse when you're in graduate school. Last week I had to pay to make copies of my thesis as well as a binding fee for each copy. I'm glad that I decided to submit it electronically, since I ended up with two required copies instead of the standard four. The secretary told me that the last person who submitted their thesis had nine copies. Nine! At fifteen dollars a copy for binding fees, that adds up. And I just got information on caps and gowns as well as graduation announcements. More little fees to pay. But I don't care. It is so worth it. I'm actually getting excited about putting on my funky robe and getting to parade across that stage for my diploma. Maybe even excited enough to plan to do it again a few more years down the road.

The Return

I guess the nice thing about having such a crappy start to your vacation is that the rest of the trip can only get better. Even though it was a little stressful traveling with two small children, one of whom is not interested in meeting new people, seeing new things, or leaving mommy's sight (Little Dude giggled with delight when he saw our front door today because he was so happy to be home), I still managed to have a good time on my whirlwind trip to Utah.

On Thursday I got together with some friends from grad school to have a little party. It was fun to see everyone and I had a great time hanging out with people from school again. People are all graduating and moving on to PhD programs, and I admit feeling a little jealous that so many of my friends seem to have their act together in a way that I don't. Over the last few years I feel like I've lost a lot of my old ability to act decisively; I'm trying to get that back. I also remind myself that people take different paths in life and that it is not unusual to take the slow track through grad school. But that's a post for a different day; I had a fun party with friends on Thursday afternoon and it was great to see everyone again. Two of my closest friends are going to the Midwest for grad school, and I feel a little sad that I don't feel like heading that direction with my life. Maybe we'll meet up at conferences sometime.

Thursday night I made a brief appearance at my cousin's wedding reception. It was good to see so many of my aunts, uncles, and cousins and to get a chance to visit with them for a little while. When I came out to Utah to go to school I really didn't know my extended family that well and I didn't have a relationship with them as an adult. Now I feel like I do and I enjoy hanging out with them. And I was touched that they are all concerned about me and expressed their love and support.

Friday I met up with a friend for lunch and then went to campus to jump through the last few hoops of thesis submission. Well, I didn't jump through hoops, but I did run all over campus with Little Dude in the stroller. I also broke my vow that I wouldn't buy anything at the bookstore when I saw a copy of The Mirror and the Lamp on clearance for only six dollars. I also picked up a compilation of women's writing for a few more bucks too. I'm not only addicted to reading, now I'm also getting addicted to buying books.

We spent Saturday at Lagoon with my mom's family. She's the third of eight children, so I have a lot of cousins. Now they are all getting married and starting families, so we had a pretty big group of people to hang out with. It was a lot of fun, although I felt exhausted by the end of the day. I don't know how people survive a week-long visit to Disneyland. But, I'm also not a big fan of crowded, noisy places or of going on rides. I didn't even really ride anything besides the train, the Ferris wheel, and the carousel. But S-Boogie's face on all the rides she went on was worth the sore feet and sweatiness.

This morning's plane ride was much less eventful than last time. My mom's flight left shortly after mine, so she was able to accompany me through check-in and security. Plus we were running a little late so I got to the gate just before pre-boarding; it was a wee bit stressful, but it was still nice to avoid hanging out in the airport. The only problem we had today was that I left Little Dude's pacifier back in the hotel, so he got to suddenly go cold turkey. He had a bottle for the first part of the flight and fell asleep shortly after take-off. But he was awake for the second hour of the flight and screamed for the last twenty minutes while the plane landed. I felt horrible for everyone around us. S-Boogie, at least, was an angel on this flight. It's amazing how much fun she can have with a notepad and pen.

And so I am now home and looking forward to sleeping in my own bed once again. As much as I like the idea of traveling, the truth is that I enjoy coming home about as much as being on vacation.

Utah Speak

I think one of my favorite parts of coming to Utah is reading all the billboards between Salt Lake and Orem. You can learn a lot about Utah culture simply by analyzing the advertising strategies people use. First of all, about half of the billboards are urging you to buy your own home. Since buying a home is an important investment and the first step to that all-important self-reliance. You can't have a year's supply of food storage in an apartment. Also, you need a home for your large family. There's one company that specifically targets the stereotypical Utah family. Their billboards read "Two kids under five and twins on the way. Two tons of laundry. Our homes have extra-large laundry rooms." and "Eight kids. All girls. 164 pairs of shoes. All our homes have oversized closets."

Then there are the ads for modest clothing, BYU football tickets, wedding dresses, and even the ad for a traffic website that pictures a girl in a wedding dress and says "accurate information to get you to the church on time" (I surprised they didn't say "get you to the temple on time"). I also love the one for the home improvement company that says "A happy wife is a happy life". Underneath that line, it advertises their low rates on granite counter tops. Since the best way to improve your marriage is to spend large amounts of money on remodeling your home.

The one you would never see in Seattle is the guy who calls himself the "free capitalist" and vows that his mission is to "annoy the socialists". He probably wouldn't like any of the bumper stickers I see in Seattle on a daily basis. They tend to say things like "More trees, less Bush". "Wal Mart: American Values Made in China", or my personal favorite, "Who would Jesus Bomb?". I don't think you're going to see that on a billboard in Utah any time soon.

I'm a survivor

Well, I made it to Utah all in one piece. I didn't even break down crying, even though I wanted to at several points throughout the day:

Little Dude woke up at 3 this morning and refused to go back to sleep. He's been running a slight fever and had a plugged up nose for the last two days. By the time I got him back to sleep it was nearly 5:30 in the morning. And then S-Boogie woke up at 7. Mommy was not a happy camper.

When we got to the airport and were checking in, the lady yelled at me and threatened me with a $10,000 fine because I forgot to bring a copy of Little Dude's birth certificate. I really spaced that one, I'll admit, but she was pretty cranky about it. Plus the last time I flew with him, no one asked for it. I also think it's dumb that they don't require ID of any type for small children S-Boogie's age.

I thought we had timed things well by hanging around in the awesome play area for a while before arriving at our gate. We got there 20 minutes before the flight was supposed to leave and got in the line for preboarding (standing up because there were no chairs left in the vicinity). 25 minutes later, we were still standing there waiting. S-Boogie kept loudly proclaiming "I want to get on the airplane, Mom" at least once every thirty seconds, much to the amusement of our fellow passengers. Our flight left half an hour late; we never got any explanation for that.

The kids behaved well on the airplane, and it was even a not-quite-full flight so I could bring Little Dude's seat on board (by the way, it's worth investing in a backpack to carry your carseat through the airport). The worst part was trying to get off the airplane, because for some reason I had a lot of trouble getting the seat back into the bag. Thankfully there was a very nice girl who was willing to hold Little Dude for me while I wrestled with the backpack. Then as I was stepping off the plane, the handle on my carry-on broke. I guess I get to go diaper bag shopping tomorrow.

I got a smart cart and got our luggage fairly easily. Then we went to the rental car place (I don't usually rent a car in Utah, but my mom is flying up and a rental makes sense for this trip). I reserved the car from the cheapest price on Orbitz, and I had been under the impression that it was from an agency located at the airport. Apparently I didn't read the fine print. My reservation was at the place that had a shuttle to their location "next to the airport". I looked at the lady, looked at my cart loaded with bags and two wild kids, looked at the pouring rain outside and announced that there was no way in hell I was taking a shuttle. So I took my business elsewhere. While in the middle of filling out forms for my new, over-priced rental car, S-Boogie announced "I need to go potty. The poop cannot wait to come out!". The rental agent was nice enough to process everything while I ran S-Boogie to the nearest bathroom, and a friendly airport employee stood guard over my cart while we took care of business.

And then we got our stuff in the car and drove to Orem and rejoiced that this day was behind us. Little Dude still has a fever, so I'd better get to bed soon since it could be a rough night.

Ready for Takeoff

Well, at least I hope I am. Travelling with little kids always takes so much stuff. I'm an overpacker as it is, and then you add in the fact that kids usually end up needing more clothes and diapers than you'd planned on, and it's a bad combination. I've got one giant duffel bag with everyone's clothes; a smaller duffel with toiletries, my blow drier, the camera, and other necessities; my giant diaper bag/carry-on; a stroller; and two car seats. Fun. Oh, and S-Boogie is in charge of her own backpack with toys and things in it. The biggest debate I have right now is whether or not take my laptop. I'm still undecided. I don't want to deal with another bag, but it seems kind of scary to just throw it in with all the other stuff in the diaper bag. And I really don't want to put it in my checked luggage. Also, I'm not sure how much I'll use it, especially since I already know I can't get a wireless signal in my sister-in-law's house. But I just worry that I'll suddenly need it for something. I had planned on bringing it because it was doing weird things and I wanted my brother to look at it. But then it spontaneously healed itself. Hmmm.... Maybe I'll just unplug for the next few days. I'm actually not even bringing a book along on this trip either (gasp of shock!), since I already know there's no chance of having time to read it.

Now I just have to try and calm my brain down enough to sleep. I keep rehearsing all the parts of tomorrow in my brain: check luggage; get through security (remove all shoes, fold up stroller, put everything on the conveyor belt, etc.); spend some time at the play area before going to our gate; board plane; install car seat; get kid in car seat; get other kid happy in their seat; wait for takeoff; keep kids entertained for two hours; land (hopefully this is not the part where S-Boogie throws a big screaming fit like she did last time); uninstall car seat and put it in special car seat bag; get stroller; load up and go to baggage claim; get smart cart; get luggage and add to cart; find rental car place; get car; install car seats; put kids and luggage in the car; drive to Orem; get everything out of the car. Whew! Can you tell why I've been a little preoccupied all day today?

Riding the wave

For the last few days I've been feeling down. No energy, no desire to do stuff. I checked out the second season of ER on DVD and spent most of Friday and Saturday watching it. And I kept bawling. Especially since that was the season that Susan ended up with her sister's baby and had to decide whether or not to keep her. It was so tragic.

Then today I finally remembered to look at the calendar. Then the little light went on in my head--the same little light that's been going on for the last fifteen years or so. Oh yeah, it's OK, it's just "that time of the month". It always sneaks up on me; I have to remind myself that there are just a few days every month where life seems harder, everything seems more tragic, and the world is a horrible place. So for today I will keep reminding myself that "this will pass in a few days and you'll be fine". In the meantime, I'll just go eat more chocolate.

Of course that does mean I have something truly depressing to think about: I not only get to vacation by myself with two little kids, but I get to do it while crampy and bloated. Oh joy.

The best way to end the day

Sitting on the back porch blowing bubbles and watching ants. Oh, and picking up sticks and waving them around. Little Dude thinks bubbles are the coolest thing ever.

S-Boogie says "It's good to blow bubbles on the Sabbath day."

Full Coverage

I bought a new swimming suit yesterday for the first time in nearly six years. Well, I guess I bought a maternity one a few years ago, but it was time to get a real suit since my other one was falling apart and I feel dumb wearing the maternity one now that my kid is a year old. Right now is a great time to get a suit, by the way, because they are all on sale. I got mine at JC Penney for half off.

The thing I hate about swimsuit shopping is the fact that a vast majority of the suits offered out there are itty-bitty bikinis. I just can't wear something like that. This time I decided to try on a a tankini that had a fairly long top and a little skirt on the bottom. Even that was too much, because if I moved at all you could suddenly see the shapeless blob that is my stomach. Having two children by c-section within three years is not friendly to your body. So I nixed that idea fast.

So I got a suit that was described on the label as a "swimdress" (it's kind of like this one). It's comfortable, it covers everything (I refuse to shave my bikini line--it just seems ridiculous to me to wear something that can't even adequately cover my lady parts), and it was quite cheap. And I look like a little old lady. But you know what, I don't care. I just want to be comfortable while I'm swiming and playing with my kids at the pool. I just hope no one thinks I'm the grandma because of my suit.