So we're getting ready to head out to hopefully find our future home. The duties have been divided. My job was to pack the diaper bag. Anh's job was to change and dress the baby. As I'm gathering all the necessities for an outing with Baylor, I'm "supervising" Anh changing Baylor's diaper. I must supervise because for some reason my husband seems to be challenged in this area. When I change Baylor's diaper it goes down without incident. When Anh does it something always seems to go wrong. Today was no exception.
First, Baylor decides right as Anh undoes the velcro of the diaper that he must poo. No big deal. Anh handles this well, and just waits for him to finish. BUT, as soon as Baylor finishes and Anh begins the clean-up, I hear, "Oh no!" Given the activity I come rushing over expecting the worst and discover the OPEN dirty diaper has fallen to the floor! GREAT! Now we have to clean the carpet! As we're standing there looking at the mess, Baylor decides to conclude the show with a grand finale. He pees and the stream arches over him right onto Anh's cell that was strategically placed just above Baylor's head. This was no little tinkle either. The kid had obviously been holding it for quite a while.
So what does the genius Daddy do? Not what I've told him I do. Yes, this happens somewhat regularly. He's a little boy and for whatever reason unfastening the diaper seems to be a trigger. I usually prevent any diaper-change drama by placing a wipe over Baylor's pee pee as I'm changing him. This won't stop him from peeing, but it does prevent a mess. No, genius doesn't grab a wipe and cover the stream. Nope, he stands there laughing, amazed at the distance of the shot. Well at least until he realized that the shot was landing right on his precious cell phone. One would think that at that point he would cover the stream, but no, he just grabs his cell and runs for a towel to dry it off, leaving the baby whose still peeing everywhere. I guess he figured since I was standing there that I'd take over, and I did because clearly someone with a brain cell needed to handle the situation.
That dramatic 30-45 seconds results in about a 20 minute delay. I guess we'll have Daddy pack the diaper bag next time and see what results from that. Oh, and for those that also value their cell phones more than their carpet, the phone works fine!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Busy Day
I've been busy so far today and there's still more in store. I started the day with an 8am dentist appointment, immediately followed by my 6 week post-op appointment with my OBGYN. I received good reviews from both the dentist and the doc. A+ for me! I was almost talked into signing up for the $650 Zoom tooth whitening session, but decided that the more rational impulse buy was a new spiffy $99 Sonicare toothbrush. We're big fans of Sonicare and since ours died last week, it wasn't too hard to convince me to replace it. I had plans to do so anyway. The dentist just got my money instead of Target.
My doctor and her staff were disappointed that I didn't bring Baylor to the appointment. I explained that they were my second stop of the day, and he probably wouldn't have waited patiently for my 2 hour dentist visit. They agreed to forgive me after I promised to stop in sometime over the next few weeks to show him off. I guess that is kind of the highlight of their jobs, seeing the babies. I mean, they see us for months and months, listening to our problems and complaints. I guess it's not asking too much to see the end result once or twice. Especially since he wasn't exactly in the best mood during his first visit. That's when he was circumcised.
This afternoon we'll be heading out on another house-hunting expedition. I don't expect anything to come of our efforts. We've been looking at properties for over a year and a half now and have yet to find our dream home. By now, we would have settled for something less than perfect, but homeowners here are still in denial about the current real estate market and refuse to lower their prices. Actually, a lot of the sellers argue that they can't lower their prices because they bought their homes during the height of the market and would lose money if they listed any lower. So their houses just sit there because buyers know the properties aren't worth that anymore. It's a bad situation down here.
We're willing to pay for our dream home, but as a result, we expect it to be perfect or listed for a price that will allow us to make it perfect down the road. Instead, what we find are houses that aren't worth their asking prices that need work and usually have a floor plan that was designed by a crackhead. Seriously, men (on crack) must be designing the houses down here without any thought about how a woman will run the show within the household. The flow just makes no sense, but then they'll attach some insanely large garage to make up for it. Makes sense, huh?
So for now, we just torture realtors. I'm sure if the market was booming we'd have been labeled a waste of time and the realtors wouldn't return our calls, but given that things are DEAD here, they're all scrambling for the chance to land our sale. If we ever do find the house, it will be a nice commission for someone, and I'm sure that will make up for our picky personalities...maybe.
My doctor and her staff were disappointed that I didn't bring Baylor to the appointment. I explained that they were my second stop of the day, and he probably wouldn't have waited patiently for my 2 hour dentist visit. They agreed to forgive me after I promised to stop in sometime over the next few weeks to show him off. I guess that is kind of the highlight of their jobs, seeing the babies. I mean, they see us for months and months, listening to our problems and complaints. I guess it's not asking too much to see the end result once or twice. Especially since he wasn't exactly in the best mood during his first visit. That's when he was circumcised.
This afternoon we'll be heading out on another house-hunting expedition. I don't expect anything to come of our efforts. We've been looking at properties for over a year and a half now and have yet to find our dream home. By now, we would have settled for something less than perfect, but homeowners here are still in denial about the current real estate market and refuse to lower their prices. Actually, a lot of the sellers argue that they can't lower their prices because they bought their homes during the height of the market and would lose money if they listed any lower. So their houses just sit there because buyers know the properties aren't worth that anymore. It's a bad situation down here.
We're willing to pay for our dream home, but as a result, we expect it to be perfect or listed for a price that will allow us to make it perfect down the road. Instead, what we find are houses that aren't worth their asking prices that need work and usually have a floor plan that was designed by a crackhead. Seriously, men (on crack) must be designing the houses down here without any thought about how a woman will run the show within the household. The flow just makes no sense, but then they'll attach some insanely large garage to make up for it. Makes sense, huh?
So for now, we just torture realtors. I'm sure if the market was booming we'd have been labeled a waste of time and the realtors wouldn't return our calls, but given that things are DEAD here, they're all scrambling for the chance to land our sale. If we ever do find the house, it will be a nice commission for someone, and I'm sure that will make up for our picky personalities...maybe.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
We're Baaaaaack
I can happily report that we had a nice drama-free extended weekend. Both boys behaved really well on the flights to and from Atlanta. Jax was a big help. I can't believe how much stuff you have to take for 4-day trip with two kids! We checked 3 suitcases, and then carried on a stroller, an infant car seat, the diaper bag, a small suitcase with the kids' clothes, my purse, and Jax's backpack. Plus, technically, Baylor could kind of count as a carry-on since we didn't buy him a seat. Without kids, Anh and I would have had 2 carry-on suitcases. Anyway, Jax was in charge of his backpack and the suitcase which he proudly dragged through the airports. Everyone kept pointing to him and commenting on how cute he was and what a great helper he was. We agreed that he made a great pack mule.
We were a nice source of entertainment while everyone was waiting to board the planes, but all the nice comments on the kids stopped when we started the actual boarding process. You could see the look of dread on people's faces, especially the ones seated in our immediate area. No one talked to us. Heck, no one really made eye contact with us once we were on the plane. Obviously, everyone expected the boys to cry and act up during the flight torturing everyone on board. Well, they were all pleasantly surprised when Baylor slept peacefully both ways, and Jax colored with his Color Wonder Cars kit and enjoyed his snack of apple juice and peanuts. Jax was always a good flyer with the exception on one flight while he was teething, and thank goodness Baylor is off to a good start. Once we landed, everyone began acknowledging us again and praising the boys good behavior.
Luckily, both boys continued their good behavior in Atlanta. Baylor enjoyed being the center of attention, but as a consequence, now believes he should be held 24/7. Sorry, kid, that's going to end. Mommy and Daddy aren't as nice as Ba Ba and Ong Noi. Uncle Al made it up to meet his new nephew, and seemed more than willing to hold and feed him, but abruptly handed him off whenever his diaper needed changing. Not surprising though considering that when he'd babysit for Jax, the poor kid would usually have to wait for us to return to get a fresh diaper. Uncle Kyle seemed indifferent to the baby, but was thrilled to have Jax around to play video games with. I'm sure he'll be more interested in Baylor once he can do more.
The trip home was just as smooth as the trip up with the exception of the security screening at the airport. Like I said before, by this point, Baylor believed he should be in someone's arms at at all times. So he was refusing to ride in his infant seat that was mounted to the stroller. Seeing an opportunity, Jax decided that he wanted to ride which meant that the infant seat would have to be carried in addition to everything else that we were already lugging around. Plus, we had lost our pack mule and now had to carry the backpack and suitcase. Thank goodness Jax has gained some weight. I just loaded down the stroller handles and then pushed with one hand while dragging the suitcase with the other. Anh got the easy job of holding Baylor.
Well, after loading all of the gear onto the x-ray machine conveyor belt including the stroller and car seat, Baylor decided that he absolutely needed his bottle right that very second. If you've met Baylor, then you know that he gives ZERO warning that he's hungry. He goes from content to a hunger induced panicked screaming fit in .25 seconds. Oh well, kid, you'll just have to scream until we're reunited with the bottle on the other side. Then, I realized that Jax and I didn't have our boarding passes. I had forgotten to take them out of the backpack. That backed up the line a little bit much to Baylor's delight. Oh well, rookie mistake. All was good again once we unloaded the gear on the other end. Baylor feasted while I once again loaded down the stroller, and then we were off on what turned out to be a thankfully uneventful return trip.
All in all, it was a good family get-together. Anh and I enjoyed 4 nights of uninterrupted sleep. What else can you ask for? Well, 5 I guess.
We were a nice source of entertainment while everyone was waiting to board the planes, but all the nice comments on the kids stopped when we started the actual boarding process. You could see the look of dread on people's faces, especially the ones seated in our immediate area. No one talked to us. Heck, no one really made eye contact with us once we were on the plane. Obviously, everyone expected the boys to cry and act up during the flight torturing everyone on board. Well, they were all pleasantly surprised when Baylor slept peacefully both ways, and Jax colored with his Color Wonder Cars kit and enjoyed his snack of apple juice and peanuts. Jax was always a good flyer with the exception on one flight while he was teething, and thank goodness Baylor is off to a good start. Once we landed, everyone began acknowledging us again and praising the boys good behavior.
Luckily, both boys continued their good behavior in Atlanta. Baylor enjoyed being the center of attention, but as a consequence, now believes he should be held 24/7. Sorry, kid, that's going to end. Mommy and Daddy aren't as nice as Ba Ba and Ong Noi. Uncle Al made it up to meet his new nephew, and seemed more than willing to hold and feed him, but abruptly handed him off whenever his diaper needed changing. Not surprising though considering that when he'd babysit for Jax, the poor kid would usually have to wait for us to return to get a fresh diaper. Uncle Kyle seemed indifferent to the baby, but was thrilled to have Jax around to play video games with. I'm sure he'll be more interested in Baylor once he can do more.
The trip home was just as smooth as the trip up with the exception of the security screening at the airport. Like I said before, by this point, Baylor believed he should be in someone's arms at at all times. So he was refusing to ride in his infant seat that was mounted to the stroller. Seeing an opportunity, Jax decided that he wanted to ride which meant that the infant seat would have to be carried in addition to everything else that we were already lugging around. Plus, we had lost our pack mule and now had to carry the backpack and suitcase. Thank goodness Jax has gained some weight. I just loaded down the stroller handles and then pushed with one hand while dragging the suitcase with the other. Anh got the easy job of holding Baylor.
Well, after loading all of the gear onto the x-ray machine conveyor belt including the stroller and car seat, Baylor decided that he absolutely needed his bottle right that very second. If you've met Baylor, then you know that he gives ZERO warning that he's hungry. He goes from content to a hunger induced panicked screaming fit in .25 seconds. Oh well, kid, you'll just have to scream until we're reunited with the bottle on the other side. Then, I realized that Jax and I didn't have our boarding passes. I had forgotten to take them out of the backpack. That backed up the line a little bit much to Baylor's delight. Oh well, rookie mistake. All was good again once we unloaded the gear on the other end. Baylor feasted while I once again loaded down the stroller, and then we were off on what turned out to be a thankfully uneventful return trip.
All in all, it was a good family get-together. Anh and I enjoyed 4 nights of uninterrupted sleep. What else can you ask for? Well, 5 I guess.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Chattanooga Choo-Choo
Tomorrow we're heading out of town for a weekend wedding. Our friend, Francis, is getting hitched in Chattanooga, TN. The plan is to fly to Atlanta where we'll squeeze in an overnight visit with Anh's parents. This will be Baylor's first vacation, along with his first flight. I'm not too worried about drama though. We'll only be in the air for about an hour, and since he loves to eat, I plan to offer him milk during takeoff and landing to help with his ears popping. No matter what the flight can't go any worse than the one we took when Jax was cutting his molars. That was a nightmare! So barring a repeat of that experience, we'll consider it a success.
After a night with the in-laws, Anh and I will take off Friday morning on our drive north to Chattanooga. Originally, the kids were going to go with us to the wedding, but Ba Ba (Jax's name for Anh's mom) convinced us to leave them behind. She worked the "the baby is too little to be traveling so far" angle, but the truth is that she just wants to have as much time with the boys as possible. So we caved, and agreed to leave them behind with her. I'm sure it will work out for the best anyway. Even though I'll miss them, I'm secretly looking forward to uninterrupted sleep. Besides, they're in good hands.
We'll drive back to Atlanta on Sunday, and then all take a flight home on Monday. Hopefully, I'll have some cute pictures and tales to share. Until then, have a great weekend!
After a night with the in-laws, Anh and I will take off Friday morning on our drive north to Chattanooga. Originally, the kids were going to go with us to the wedding, but Ba Ba (Jax's name for Anh's mom) convinced us to leave them behind. She worked the "the baby is too little to be traveling so far" angle, but the truth is that she just wants to have as much time with the boys as possible. So we caved, and agreed to leave them behind with her. I'm sure it will work out for the best anyway. Even though I'll miss them, I'm secretly looking forward to uninterrupted sleep. Besides, they're in good hands.
We'll drive back to Atlanta on Sunday, and then all take a flight home on Monday. Hopefully, I'll have some cute pictures and tales to share. Until then, have a great weekend!
Monday, June 23, 2008
What is it with Florida?
I just heard that we are once again under a water boil notice. Evidently lightening struck our water treatment plant which caused the water pressure to drop, and that evidently can lead to unsafe drinking water. I don't know what it is about this state, but this is a regular occurance. Not lightening striking the water treatment plant, but water boil notices. Since moving down a year ago, this has to be at least the 15th time this has happened.
Before we were Floridians, I can only remember one time when we were under notice. Maybe I just missed the notice for all the other ones and was drinking the tainted water which could explain a lot! Okay, seriously, let's hope that wasn't the case. Anyway, so I had to bust open the hurricane kit that I put together last summer and use some of the bottled water because a certain little piggy couldn't wait for me to boil and cool safe, clean water. No, he just had to have a bottle right then, the very instant I was reading the notice. At least I had some bottled water on hand. Otherwise, we'd have been in a heap of trouble.
Before we were Floridians, I can only remember one time when we were under notice. Maybe I just missed the notice for all the other ones and was drinking the tainted water which could explain a lot! Okay, seriously, let's hope that wasn't the case. Anyway, so I had to bust open the hurricane kit that I put together last summer and use some of the bottled water because a certain little piggy couldn't wait for me to boil and cool safe, clean water. No, he just had to have a bottle right then, the very instant I was reading the notice. At least I had some bottled water on hand. Otherwise, we'd have been in a heap of trouble.
He's Legal
Baylor has a social security card! Of course, now-a-days that doesn't necessarily mean you're legal, but since his was issued by the Social Security Administration, I think he's probably legit.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Heroic Tale
Tonight we headed out to enjoy an evening with old and new friends. The plan was to meet up with Lou and Trish and their friends, Scott and Karen, at a restaurant where we could enjoy the sunset while watching the boats cruise by on the Intercoastal waterway. Scott and Karen also brought along their 7-year old, Summer. As we were enjoying our beverages on the deck, the guys decided to take the kids for a stroll along the dock. I was instantly nervous because there really wasn't much of railing, just a single rope strung from pillar to pillar. That wasn't going to do much to contain my active 3-year old.
Seeing Jax run up and swing from the measly rope didn't do much to calm my nerves either, but I decided to have faith in my husband's parenting abilities and kept my mouth shut. As the boys walked the dock, we enjoyed a little girl talk. A short time later, the guys wandered back up to the table. I was instantly relieved to see that everyone was dry. They had obviously kept a close eye on the kids. Good job, boys!
Towards the end of our meal, a lady and a 2-year old girl came up to Anh and thanked him. The talked for a few minutes, but I was confused as to how he knew them. After they walked away, Scott turned to me and said, "That's her." He could tell from the look on my face that I was confused, and he asked me, "Didn't Anh tell you what happened?" I turned to Anh for answers, and he told me, "Well, I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to ban Jax from walking on the dock." So, of course, then I was really confused and kind of worried about what he was going to say.
Anh tells me that, while they were walking on the dock, they suddenly heard a splash and both Anh and Scott instantly knew that one of the kids had fallen in. Scott quickly asked, "Yours or mine?" They both looked around in a panic, but after realizing that Jax and Summer were safe on the dock next to them, they scanned the water looking to see what had happened. Anh saw something bobbing under the water, and then heard a female calling from a nearby table, "It's okay. She can swim!" Suddenly, a little girl popped to the surfaced. She was frantically dog-paddling, and Anh instantly dropped onto his stomach and reached down into the water to pull her to safety before the current pulled her out of reach. She was wet and scared, but okay.
If the mom and little girl hadn't come over to thank Anh again for helping, I would have probably never known about Anh's heroic moment. Sadly, as a side effect, Jax will no longer be able to walk on boat docks. Sorry, kid!
Seeing Jax run up and swing from the measly rope didn't do much to calm my nerves either, but I decided to have faith in my husband's parenting abilities and kept my mouth shut. As the boys walked the dock, we enjoyed a little girl talk. A short time later, the guys wandered back up to the table. I was instantly relieved to see that everyone was dry. They had obviously kept a close eye on the kids. Good job, boys!
Towards the end of our meal, a lady and a 2-year old girl came up to Anh and thanked him. The talked for a few minutes, but I was confused as to how he knew them. After they walked away, Scott turned to me and said, "That's her." He could tell from the look on my face that I was confused, and he asked me, "Didn't Anh tell you what happened?" I turned to Anh for answers, and he told me, "Well, I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to ban Jax from walking on the dock." So, of course, then I was really confused and kind of worried about what he was going to say.
Anh tells me that, while they were walking on the dock, they suddenly heard a splash and both Anh and Scott instantly knew that one of the kids had fallen in. Scott quickly asked, "Yours or mine?" They both looked around in a panic, but after realizing that Jax and Summer were safe on the dock next to them, they scanned the water looking to see what had happened. Anh saw something bobbing under the water, and then heard a female calling from a nearby table, "It's okay. She can swim!" Suddenly, a little girl popped to the surfaced. She was frantically dog-paddling, and Anh instantly dropped onto his stomach and reached down into the water to pull her to safety before the current pulled her out of reach. She was wet and scared, but okay.
If the mom and little girl hadn't come over to thank Anh again for helping, I would have probably never known about Anh's heroic moment. Sadly, as a side effect, Jax will no longer be able to walk on boat docks. Sorry, kid!
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