Poop

It's amazing how much poop you can tolerate as a parent. Poop on your hands, poop on shoes, poop anywhere and everywhere. Tonight we went out for a little dinner, Italian ice, and time at the very cool church playground. It was while on this very cool playground equipment that Owen declared, "I pooped." At the time, I was paused at the top of a slide, encouraging him to follow me down. He had already pooped today (and is usually a one poop a day kind of guy), so I assumed that he really meant that he pooted. So I calmly explained, "It's okay to poot on the slide." So he follows me down, gleeful all the way. We both climb back up the steps, and I encourage him to race me down the parallel slides, to which to replies, "I pooped again." This time I decide to actually take a peek down the back of the diaper, and lo and behold, there is some poop in there. Unfortunately, I didn't take the time to think my next action through. I encouraged him to go down the slide. Bad, bad idea. Poop no longer contained in the diaper. Or in the shorts even. Poop now dripping onto the shoes. Poop on the mulch. Gotta love it.

I'm a pregnant cry-baby

I must admit that I'm not infrequently moved to the point of crying. Fortunately for me, I don't have any tearducts, so most people can be left safely in the dark during these moments. If you asked me a question, I'd be in trouble, because my throat nearly closes up from the effort of not audibly sobbing. Praise music in church, movies, sweet moments with my family, you name it. Pregnancy seems to have ratcheted this up a notch. So I thought I'd share my latest throat-blocking moment with you if you're interested. http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/christian.asp
You might laugh at me for crying during this, but remember, it's the fetus' fault.

Nothing Much

I don't have anything in particular to say. It's been a long time since I've posted, so I thought it was due. It seems the summer sends lots of blogs into hiatus. Hard to feel motivated to type when there is so much else happening I suppose. For my part, I'd like to blame it on nausea. I haven't felt motivated to do much other than lay on the couch and watch movies. Yesterday Owen wanted me to play with him on the floor. I told him I needed to lay down for a little while because my belly hurt. When Will got home, he immediately told him that my belly hurt, because there's a baby in there. So funny. No idea why he connected the two. I've never given him an explanation for this recurring "belly hurt." Smart kid. Not so smart on the specifics of pregnancy though, since he keeps declaring he has a baby in his belly, despite our efforts to teach him otherwise. A few weeks ago, he seemed to concede, but then told us he had a baby in his leg instead. By the way, in case you don't know already, I'm pregnant. Here we are going on about diapers and nausea, never actually stating the fact. If you haven't heard this news in person, I'm sorry. We love so many people, who are spread out all over the place, and I just haven't had the energy to personally contact everyone I would like to, so please don't be mad.

Diaper Debate

As a new little one slowly nears and we become a little more environment conscious, the question of what kind of diapers to use has arisen. Mind you, Owen is still in some sort of diaper and is fighting hard to stay that way. He will tell us that he needs to pee-pee, but that usually just means, "I pee-pee'd a little and I want you to pay attention to me and not whatever you are doing so I can control my world just a little more." Selfish.

It would be much easier if it were just a question of Pampers vs. Huggies. Consumer reports does a pretty good job of telling us which is the best, and a little time and experience fills in those gaps. Unfortunately, there is no such offering for cloth vs. disposable diapers. There are a smattering of sites on the internet preaching one view or the other. Most of the cloth sites are in some way linked to the cloth diaper industry or environmental groups. They yell, "All the studies saying disposables are about equal to cloth in the end are funded by the diaper industry and we hate them...and George Bush too!" You don't really find any sites that are the opposite, but I'm sure they are out there.

All that said, the cloth diaper backers have yet to present me with good science to prove to me that I should be a cloth diaper lover. In fact, the only compelling evidence that I've found is from a great friend of ours. Her rhetoric sounds about the same, but it at least comes from somebody I know and trust. On the other hand, there are studies out there that break down the environmental impact on both sides of the fence, generally by independent research firms. I'm sure a little cash comes there way from somebody else, but I also understand that that is the way research gets done in this world, whether it's about drugs or business or diapers.

At this point, I think Christy is slightly on the cloth side. I'm on the disposable side all the way. I'm really on the "Christy needs to birth a potty-trained baby" side, but that's like voting for Nader.

So what do you think?

Cloth

Disposable

Pick one. I expect your answer under my door by Friday.

My Architect

Is that not the cutest little boy ever? He's participating in his latest favorite activity...building. Mostly he's content to build quietly, constructing castles, garages, and rockets, but occasionally, he wants a building companion. As you can see, this fine structure is a garage (since there is a pickup truck parked inside). It is I who insists on making them look like castles, with columns and triangles perched on top. I had done just that when Owen decided he didn't like my triangle or the fact that I put a ramp on the other side, so he removed them. It is usually when he starts removing my additions that I decide to quietly bow out of the building process, so I slunk away to the couch to read my book. He immediately stops building and says in the sweetest voice ever, "Mommy, build with me." As I pick up book to read, I calmly explain that it's not much fun to play if he always takes apart the parts that I build. Then I hear, "See, isn't that nice?" I look up to find my triangle back on top, the ramp in place, and my little boy smiling the most endearing smile. How can you resist after that? So back on the floor I went.

What about dining out, any way to get paid for that?

I enjoy eating in restaurants way too much. It's not that I don't like to cook, because I do. There's just something about going somewhere to eat that makes me ridiculously happy. We live on a budget and this is the one line item that requires real self-control on my part. I usually plan to eat out once a week when making the menu, and I have to admit that I actually think about that event several days in advance. I muse about where I would like to eat and what I would order. The day of, I actually get excited about going--even if it's just Chick fil A. My mother and father-in-law visited this weekend, and I must say that their love of going out makes me love them even more. We went to a dim sum restaurant yesterday and our favorite bakery/deli today. So incredibly yummy. It's not that I need to get paid for watching movies and eating--we're not desperate for cash. It would just make me feel better about my habits if they produced something other than couch-butt and fry-thighs.

Can You Get Paid to Watch Movies?

I love watching movies. I like to blame it on my parents owning a video store at one time, but in reality, I think it's genetic. At least that's what I'm telling myself. Somehow I managed to marry a fantastic husband, who unfortunately does not share my passion for film. So, alas, I wait for a rotation that involves far too many night shifts and go crazy. I have watched a ridiculous number of movies in the last few weeks. As best I can recall, I have seen: An Unfinished Life, Because I Said So, Becoming Jane, We Are Marshall, Knocked Up, Chicken Little, Monster-in-law, Fargo, Enchanted, and A History of Violence. I tried to get through Away From Her but it was just too darn depressing. And so many more movies that I want to watch! The list just keeps growing. So if you've seen any great ones lately, please share. Oh, and the list above isn't a recommendation list. Loved some, hated others. If you haven't seen An Unfinished Life, you should give it a try; it was my favorite.