There are two types of people in this world...

Dr. Leo Marvin: Are you married? 
Bob Wiley: I'm divorced. 
Dr. Leo Marvin: Would you like to talk about that? 
Bob Wiley: There are two types of people in this world: Those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don't. My ex-wife loves him. 
Dr. Leo Marvin: [pause] I see. So, what you're saying is that even though you are an almost-paralyzed, multiphobic personality who is in a constant state of panic, your wife did not leave you, you left her because she... liked Neil Diamond?

*********

So it turns out that there is another way to segment society.  There are two types of people in this world: Those who like cruises, and those who don't.  Turns out that the hubbs and I belong to the latter category.  


Oh the rocking.


And the huge quantity of mediocre food that is constantly surrounding you.  I'm getting heart burn just thinking about it


And the having a toddler in a confined space.


And the boat that smelled like raw sewage.


Not.  Good. 


Don't get me wrong, Catalina was awesome, Ensenada was great and we loved spending time with family but the large boat is where the whole equation went south.  I think next time we'll just stick with a hotel.

Cruisin'

Today we leave for our Cruise.


Wish us luck. Both the hubbs and I get really sea sick. 


In honor of a week's hiatus here's one my favorite Cruisin' songs of all time 


 

Know Thyself

Every Tuesday night our family heads to Baskin Robins for $1 scoop night.  I'm not the kind of person who can keep treats in the house (or I just eat them all up in one fail swoop) so even though we know that the ice cream in more expensive it works best for us--we get ice cream once a week, on Tuesday and everybody gets a kid sized scoop.


Coming home from ice cream this week Claire was angry and fussy in the car.  In an attempt to distract her he started playing a game of I-Spy.  


"If you can see a bus, raise your hand," he called. 


"If you can see a driver talking on their cell phone, raise your hand"


He got nothing.  She just kept fussing and crying.  So the hubbs called, "If you're a little girl crying in the back seat raise your hand."  Claire's little hand shot up and even though we erupted in laughter she just kept crying with her little hand straight in the air.


And after weeks of carefully consideration we decided to remodel our kitchen.  The amazing thing is we actually doubled the amount of counter space we have.

Ah So Cal and your tiny apartments and high high rent.

Public Apology

Several months ago we had Claire nearly weaned from her pacifier.  She knew that she only got to have it in bed and when she woke up in the morning she would had it over to us to put away in the cupboard until we needed it at nap time again.  I was proud.  And maybe a little self-righteous when I dropped her off at the babysitter and said, "there's a pass in her bag if there's an emergency but we're really trying to wean her from it."

So.  A couple of teeth, a Christmas holiday, 3 trips to Utah later and would you like to know how we're doing with "weaning" her from the pass?

Great.  Thanks for asking.

It's a good thing

The day we arrived in Utah my mom came home from getting her hair done and stated that she had bought me the most wonderful present and that if I didn't like it she was never going to buy me another present again.

Luckily we don't have to go that route because it is one of the most perfect gifts I have ever received.

It's called a gurgle pot and every time it pours it makes a gurgling noise. It's been on our table every night this week and everybody giggles every time it pours.  You can listen to it here and order one for your kitchen here.

How I use my brain cells these days

Today during a morning phone call my mom asked "so when are you going to start blogging again?"


I guess today.


When I first started being a stay-at-home mom I was at a party where I didn't really know anyone and someone asked me what I did.  I stammered around for a few minutes and said, "well....well...I guess I'm a mom?"  She laughed and said, "you must be new to this.  It get's easier."


The hard part wasn't staying with Claire.  I loved being with her (I still do) but there was something that was hard about redefining who I was.  Before I was a mom I had a really cool job.  I worked with a non-profit organization.  We did work with poor communities in Africa and South America.  My job was working with the staff we had in country to come up with the programs that they would use in the communities.  I helped them plan out what they were doing, helped them manage the funds as they were going along and helped with the follow up and analysis of the project.  My job was, by in large, a desk job but it did provide me with a chance to travel.  Several times a year I would go to South America or Africa to work with the communities and staff.  It provided me with many incredible experiences.  I have held a small boy in my arms who was dying of AIDS while we tried to feed him a special meal powder designed by students at BYU to provide maximum nutrition. He would be dead within 24 hours and when we woke up the next morning we would hear the whole town performing their traditional wailing for him.  I have cooked traditional bread in a hut on the savanna over a fire while the black smoke spewed and spewed and the baby who was in the hut with us just coughed and coughed.  I have seen the sun rise at Macchu Pichu and I have spent and entire New Year's eve celebration dancing to terrible polka music at fourteen-thousand feet.


Now that I'm 21 months into my parenting experiment one of the things that I am learning is that the job that I left and the job that I have now are actually very similar.  Both are packed with adventure, both have good days and bad days, both are changing the lives of other people.  


And both require a great deal of ingenuity.  


Case study: this morning.  Homemade yogurt is a little runnier than the store bought kind.  The last couple of days breakfast at our house has deteriorated into a yogurt finger-painting free for all.  Combine that with the fact that when Claire doesn't eat she gets really cross and things have been....tense to say the least.


Enter a trimmed bendy straw.

Ta-Da.  A whole breakfast consumed, a happy girl and a happy mom.

Shopping List

On my shopping list:

30 small toys for a magic fishing pond
sparklers (which might be outlawed in San Diego county but I'm crossing my fingers)
poppers
veggies and dip
streamers
balloons
glow bracelets
napkins
plates
forks
colored paper


Our party for tomorrow night is going from 6-8.  At 8 pm we are going to light sparklers, make a lot of noise and pretend like it's midnight.  At which point we will all go home and put our babies to bed and be in bed before midnight.

Doesn't that sound dreamy?

Happy New Year's to you as well.