These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things: Part 2

1. I like that Dustin thinks that Alden has my smile.
2. I like that I think Alden has Dustin's smiley eyes.
3. It fun to give Alden baths. He is very peaceful in the tub.
4. Alden's head smells like honey.
5. I like that "tummy time" also means "farty time".

Curt, A Year Gone By

A year ago today, I had been newly hired, Dustin was leaving for Elk Camp with my dad, and my biggest worry was leaving our little puppy dog, Curtis, at home by himself for the day. Little did we know that life was going to get a whole lot more exciting. We were pregnant for a less than a minute and had a while before we found out. Anyway. I'd like to take a moment to show our Curtis growing up in this past year. Must be all that dry wall in his diet...









He is a great dog with the best intentions but puts Marley to shame. You can actually hear the gears turning in his noggin as he thinks up the next thing to destroy...

The Scent of Money

Lever 2000 soap smells like money to me. And I'll tell you why...

When I was younger and living with my two older sisters and parents in the woods outside of town, neighbors with kids our age were hard to come by. Luckily, we had a family that lived about 2 miles away that had three daughters around our same ages. It was a comfortable bike ride away if you were committed to visiting. And I typically was because the middle daughter and I were good buddies who liked to clean and organize for fun, play office, and set up rigid schedules for our summer time enjoyment. Like the military for 12 year olds.

They would sometimes visit our home but not nearly as often as we would go to theirs. We lived up a dirt road that had 3 tough hills in it's mile long distance and we didn't have a 3 hole golf course, golf cart, in-ground swimming pool, or Coke on tap. That's right, you heard me with the Coke ON TAP. They also had a lynx-y/bob cat in a beautiful cage that ran along the side of the house that the girl' bedroom were on. I can still see it looking into their window at me from my sleeping bag on the floor. As a result, I can only clearly remember staying over two times in the entire 14 years of living near them... the second time I slept in the parents' room. But I digress.

Sometime in the 90's, Lever 2000 soap came out on the market. It was a brand new soap amidst so many tried and true and, frankly, tired soaps like Ivory, Irish Spring, and Tone. It had fresh and modern packaging and was more expensive than the other soaps. That is why we never had any at our home. Not to say that we couldn't afford it but that is wouldn't be the NEXT thing we'd buy. But, one day, while rinsing off in the outdoor bathroom after swimming in the neighbors pool, I got to try Lever 2000. It was a significant time in my life already, so I apologize if this seems a bit dramatic. It made an impression, is all. I was starting high school soon, I was going to be a cheerleader after having been relatively friendless through middle school, I was soon to be a child of divorce, and so and so on. I was noticing differences between my lifestyle and those of my peers for the first time. Some of those differences were materialistic. So there I was, having just spent the day drinking Coke from the tap like I was getting paid for it after cruising down to the country store in the golf cart to put candy on our parents' tabs before swimming in a pool that looked like it belonged in Miami and not Southern Oregon. Who was I? Where was I? And where do I fit in? And what is that amazingly luxurious sent? I decided that I wanted more of what the Lever 2000 lifestyle had to offer.

To this day, I use Lever 2000 soap in my home. I didn't know then what kind of money one had to have to live like our neighbors did but I liked thinking that I would know some day. This isn't to say that I've made it materially but when I do you had better believe I'll be having me some Slurpee on tap. And a mini-cow. And a butler. And a finger monkey.

Dustin's Truths

About once a week, when I'm feeling dull, I read this from my favorite conversations with Dustin. I shake my head and move on with my day, renewed.

July 21, 2008
Upon discussing our new dog’s fecal matter:
D “Have you ever looked at his poop?”
Me “Yes. It looks like Palak Paneer.”
D “It looks like a junk drawer. Some matches, a balloon, Easter grass, a birthday candle, a golf tee….”

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

Awww. That's nice.

He's lucky to have any toes left... for I have tried to nibble them all.

Me and my buddy getting ready for a walk.

Other things I enjoy about the baby Alden are:
1. His adoration for a stuffed red bird that we have cleverly dubbed "Red Bird" is palpable. Every time he sees it, his faces lights up, his mouth opens wide, and his eyes shine. I've seen him react similarly with a pair of orange handled scissors that I had near by but the Red Bird is tried and true. Buddies til the end.
2. His smile in the morning is wobbly and grows stronger as the day progresses.
3. He has discovered his hands and sucks on them for comfort and in curiosity. They smell a little because of that but that just means we can call him names like "Stinky Mittens".
4. He seems more satisfied than not as the weeks go by.
5. He loves to be held and rest his head on our chests. That means he feels safe which is something that I have always sought for myself and am happy to provide for another human being.
6. His eyelashes are nearly translucent but when he cries they clump up and show a light strawberry blond color.
7. He gets distracted by his own reflection in the mirror when he is upset. I'll show him himself and he instantly smiles back. That seems like the start of a healthy self-esteem. "I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And, Gosh darn it, people like me."

This is just the beginning of a very long list.

Ok. Don't Laugh At Me

Until today, I didn't know that the "www" of a website address is OPTIONAL when typing in the URL. I had silently watched Dustin skip typing in the "www" before several sites' addresses while showing me some stuff about a project he's been working on. Admittedly, I don't really remember what cool stuff he'd discovered because I was frantically digging through my computer knowledge like a dog looking for his dinner bone on a beach. Sand. Was. Everywhere.
Did I know this and somehow forgot? Why have I been wasting precious time typing out the tedious and all-so-obvious "www" for all these years? Why do people even display this portion of an address when we ALL know that "www" is the standard precursor to getting there?
When Dustin finally turned to me and asked excitedly, "Well? So what do you think?" I whispered, "It's amazing."

Augggh. It Can't Stop

I'm just going to say the two that have come up since yesterday and get it over with because I can't seem to stop it from happening.
Squealy Dan
Wailin' Jennings (thanks, mom)

An Oldie But A Goody

I can't seem to stop coming up with celebrity names with baby Alden twists. Here we go with Snoozin B. Anthony.
I'm sorry. I hope it stops soon.

A Love/Hate Relationship

I love hot glue guns for their instant adhesive-ness. I love that they can make nearly all craft projects that much easier and more quickly accomplished. I love the quick clean up and very small expense associated with a glue gun.

I hate that when a minuscule drop of hot glue gets on your skin you would gladly rip of that portion of your body if it would stop the soul ruining pain that is the burn of hot glue.

Thought you should know.

Fuh-Reak-Ing PRECIOUS

You just LOOK at this picture and, BAM, spontaneous pregnancy.