The Challenge

I have to admit that although it feels like I take tons of pictures, I don't do a very good job of chronicling time as it passes. And, if you ask my mother, I probably don't do a very good job of sharing the photos that I do take! :o)

So, this year, I'm going to participate in a photo project. A challenge. The challenge is to post a new photo every day from December 1st through December 25th. I will have to go back to keeping my camera with me at all times instead of leaving it on the sofa table, but I'm willing to try! I also think I might need to dust off my old digital camera, and keep it in the car for emergencies. :o)

I'll warn you, I'm not an artistic photographer. Yes, I just took 84 pictures of my barenekked baby, and some of them are good...but it's easy when the subject is so darn cute! But photos with texture? And movement? And dimension? Notsomuch. But I'm gonna try. And I can't guarantee a photo every day. But I'm gonna try.  And I can't guarantee that 90% of my photos won't be of Mookie. But I'm gonna try.

I'm gonna try mostly because December is always such a blur and I think it is important to document the life in my days.

So, stay tuned for my first snap sometime on Monday.

Phun Photo Phriday

Mookie and I have had some fun this morning getting ready for Christmas. I can't reveal much, and I won't reveal the best, but suffice it to say that our fun involved one nekked babe and one wee Santa hat. 84 clicks later, and we just might have usselves a Christmas card.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

It Bit Me, Mama!

During her bath, sometimes Mookie occupies herself by chewing on things. Okay, let's be real. She chews on things all the time, to include tubby time. Usually it's no big deal, it keeps her happy and distracted while I bathe her.

Tonight, though, was a different story. She was perfectly happy chewing on her toy, and I was perfectly happy scrubbing her, when all of a sudden, she let out a WAIL, dropped her toy, took a deep breath, and WAILed again.

I thought it was that her arms had gotten cold since I had finished them and was washing her legs.

But no.

Upon closer inspection, I saw a little spot of red on her tongue, and I surmised that our sweet baby is the victim of a viscious little toy that bites back.

I doubt you can see the little red spot, but doesn't this just break your heart? Poor girl. I quickly got her out and dried off and cuddled with her for a little while before I put on her jammies.

That toy is now in the garbage. We don't need toys that bite, here. We've got enough biting going on. :o)

*Note: Lest you think I'm looney, I know that my daughter bit her own tongue. :o)

Dear Mookie: Month Six*

*This is the official letter to Mookie. The last post was just a place-holder. I hope all Mookie's adoring fans will forgive me. :o)

Dear Mookie,

The transition from 5 to 6 months has been a monumental one! So very much has gone on, and changed, and is new and is no longer this last month that I don't know quite where to start! It's like I have a new baby every week -- no, every day! Always a good baby, though.

Whatcha lookin' for down there?

Last month, you were rolling over, but not with much oomph, or much confidence. Now? You roll over and back and under the bed and all around! You've just recently learned that if you want something out of your reach, you can often roll to it and get it. My clever child. :o) Last month you didn't like sleeping on your tummy, now you don't seem to mind so much. There are many days that I will go in to get you from your nap or in the morning and you are peacefully on your tummy. While I'm glad that I no longer wake to blood-curdling screams if you are turned over, what I do miss is knowing that you will be...well...in one piece when I find you. Now? You have squirmed out of your blanket, kicked off your socks, wormed one arm out of your pajamas, and somehow mushed both legs into one of your pajama legs! And that was just this morning! :o) I know you are okay, I just feel bad because when I get you, your feet are like little ice cubes. I've got a sleepsack for you, so maybe we'll make it through the winter without any cases of frostbite on your little tootsies. And you seem to have turned a corner on the naps, too. You are still (frustrating for me) taking some 30 minute naps, but you are also taking some longer naps. It's just unpredictable...which is pretty tough on Mama. Mama likes predictability, k?

Whoa! It's like we're on a roller-coaster!

And just in the last week, you have stopped your second night feeding, and are sleeping on through. Yay! Except that you think it's appropriate to wake up for the day at a time that starts with 6. If you didn't look so much like me, I'd swear you weren't my child, because Mama don't wake up that early! Mama likes to sleep in! One day, really really soon, I hope, I will teach you the joys, the sheer bliss that comes from sleeping in. Mmm, say it with me, "Mama, I'd like to try some of that sleeping in stuff." But, speaking of sleeping, I want you to know that some of the best moments in my day involve holding you while you sleep. I know I need to put you down, but sometimes I just can't do it. I know these are precious moments, and whatever else I might want to do can just wait.

Nice ribbon. I'm gonna take it.

Some will say that your new trick of sleeping through the night is because now you are eating solid foods, but I don't know. It could be that you are more advanced neurologically than everyone else your age you were before. :o) Regardless, I do know that you are a clever baby because of how incredibly well you have taken to solid foods! For a week or two before I gave you your first bite of rice cereal, you watched my every food-bearing bite. And every liquid-bearing drink, too! I'm afraid that you're gonna end up with a lap-full of my chocolate milk one of these days!! The very first night I offered you rice cereal (November 6th), you knew just when to open your mouth, how to pull it off the spoon, and how to swallow it all without pushing too much back out! Yay!! So, you ate one meal of rice cereal a day for a week, and then I introduced you to The Banana. A real, mashed up banana. Fed to you with the same spoon as the rice cereal. And you balked. And coughed. And made a confused, bitter face. You ate the few bites I gave you, but I think we'll wait awhile before we see The Banana again. Sorry about that. :o)

(Oops! Mama caught me!)

Next I introduced you to The Sweet Potato. And you just chow down on them. Good thing you got an orange bib for Halloween, huh? :o) Rice and sweet potatoes...mmmm, good. Next week we'll try something new. Like pears or squash. I mentioned to someone how well you are eating, and she knows how much your lack of sleep bothers me, and she said, "At least she's a good eater...lots of moms really struggle with feeding their babies." She had a good point. And I'm glad that you are such a good eater. As you get older I hope to teach you good eating habits. By the way, you weigh 13 pounds, 3 ounces, and are 26 inches long right now.

I love Grandma Bear!

With slight change of diet comes the not-so-slight change in diaper content. It took about a week to catch up, but gone are the days of the one-wiper diaper. (sigh) Now, I play a little game with myself where I try to guess how many wipes I'll have to use to restore your little rumpus to it's previously pristine state. Yup. It's time to buy the HAZMAT suit for Papa. And wipes by the carton. :o)

No, Grandma Bear. I don't see any gum in your hair.

Last month I knew that teeth weren't too far away, and now you've got two! You got your first on October 25th, and your second on November 6th. So far, you've done pretty well not using your teeth while you are breastfeeding. Which proves, yet again, how brilliant you are because you obviously know that you don't need your teeth for that! :o) Please, pretty please remember that when your top teeth come in. Pretty please? You make such funny faces when you are playing with your new-found teeth. From the pucker, to the tongue sticking out, to rolling your tongue around in your mouth. You love to play with your teeth. Let's you and me make a pledge to take good care of them, okay?

Look at me! I'm sitting up! (Sorta)

Last month you were dancing in the mirror and not quite sitting up on your own...but now you are! You don't get to a sitting position on your own, yet, but you will. One day. Let's not rush it. For now, you are happiest when I am sitting right behind you and you are enclosed in my legs. Even if you're not touching me, you just seem more comfortable that way. If I move away, you topple over. But every day you are sitting for longer and longer stretches of time. Pretty soon you'll be sitting up, playing with your toys and won't even feel like laying down...until you're tired, I hope! :o) I must say, I'm not looking forward to the day (or night?) when you get "stuck" sitting in your crib and can't remember how to lay back down!

Hey Mama! This is fun!

Last month you weren't too sure about the exersaucer that Maddy is letting you borrow. You would just stand there and watch me play with the toys. You seemed to be aware that there were toys all around you, but you couldn't figure out how to get to them while keeping your feet in the same place. You were so cute as you would turn your torso around as far as possible, and then reach with your hands towards whichever toy you wanted to play with...but that was tiresome, wasn't it? :o)  Then, Smarty Pants, you figured out how to turn the little chair! And now, you were free, free, FREE to move from toy to toy to toy. Or just chew on the little star. :o)  I don't leave you in it for very long, but you are usually pretty happy when you are sitting in it.

Mama, it sure is hard to sit up straight when the bear is leaning.

Last month, I was beginning to think that you were outgrowing the sling I would carry you in, and then a friend let me try putting you in her Moby wrap and instantly I knew that you loved it. You smiled that big, open-mouthed, full-face smile of yours, you waved your arms, you kicked your legs, and you looked back at me to tell me just how happy you were. I am SO very glad that I did buy it because now when I wear you, my left shoulder doesn't hurt, and I can put you in it, and take you out of it very easily. (I always felt like I was giving birth to you when I took you out of the pouch sling!) :o)  So now, the Moby is my best friend! Fussy? Moby.  Shopping? Moby.  Sewing? Moby. Bible study? Moby. Church? Moby. Baby loves Moby...and so does Mama!

Ha ha! Just thinking about the Moby makes me haphaphappy!

You've still got some bald spots, but you are growing a wee bit of peach fuzz on your big ol' noggin. Slowly, ever so slowly, you are getting a head full of hair. I can't wait to see what you look like with hair! :o) Speaking of hair, I went away this month to get my hair done, and left you with Papa for the first time. And you, of course, did fabulously! He said you slept for about half the time I was gone, and then when you woke up, he tried to feed you a bottle, but you mostly played with it. Then after another 45 minutes, you decided that drinking that bottle might not be such a bad idea. :o) And he took you for a walk, too. And when I came home, you were just about ready for a nap...so the timing was perfect! I'm proud of you!

I love you, Mama!

One thing that hasn't changed, though, is that you are, hands down, the CUTEST baby that ever there was. You are beautiful, you are funny, you are smart, you are inquisitive. You make funny faces and make me giggle. Your smile is magical. You are the best. Thanks for being my baby. Thanks for helping me to see the things that matter most, and ignore the things that don't. Thanks for teaching me about unconditional love, and teaching me more and more what True Love, the kind of love that is only possible with God, is. You are so happy to see me in the morning when you wake up. You don't care if my pajamas are clean, or if my hair is brushed. You just want to be with me. You love me regardless. That's how it is with God. He doesn't care about the outside -- he just wants to be with us, and loves us regardless.  2000 years ago, God sent a little baby to remind the world about His love. And six months ago, He sent one to me.

I love you, baby girl. Forever and ever and always.

Love,
Mama

Transparency

I was over at Secret Agent Josephine, and found a little quiz. I answered two questions, and was pretty accurately identified as a "Marilyn." TWO questions!

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Marilyn!

You are a Marilyn -- "I am affectionate and skeptical."

Marilyns are responsible, trustworthy, and value loyalty to family, friends, groups, and causes. Their personalities range broadly from reserved and timid to outspoken and confrontative.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Be direct and clear
• * Listen to me carefully
• * Don't judge me for my anxiety
• * Work things through with me
• * Reassure me that everything is OK between us
• * Laugh and make jokes with me
• * Gently push me toward new experiences
• * Try not to overreact to my overreacting.

What I Like About Being a Marilyn

• * being committed and faithful to family and friends
• * being responsible and hardworking
• * being compassionate toward others
• * having intellect and wit
• * being a nonconformist
• * confronting danger bravely
• * being direct and assertive

What's Hard About Being a Marilyn (seriously!)

• * the constant push and pull involved in trying to make up my mind
• * procrastinating because of fear of failure; having little confidence in myself
• * fearing being abandoned or taken advantage of
• * exhausting myself by worrying and scanning for danger
• * wishing I had a rule book at work so I could do everything right
• * being too critical of myself when I haven't lived up to my expectations

Marilyns as Children Often

• * are friendly, likable, and dependable, and/or sarcastic, bossy, and stubborn
• * are anxious and hypervigilant; anticipate danger
• * form a team of "us against them" with a best friend or parent
• * look to groups or authorities to protect them and/or question authority and rebel
• * are neglected or abused, come from unpredictable or alcoholic families, and/or take on the fearfulness of an overly anxious parent

Marilyns as Parents

• * are often loving, nurturing, and have a strong sense of duty
• * are sometimes reluctant to give their children independence
• * worry more than most that their children will get hurt
• * sometimes have trouble saying no and setting boundaries

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

Who are you?

Flashback: Adventures in the UK - Part 5

SHE COVETS

Originally emailed to family and friends on November 17, 2004. I had been in the UK for just over a month. I will put new comments in [brackets] to fill in some gaps. Enjoy this flashback! I'm sorry, but this time I couldn't find any new photos! :-(  Boooooo!!   I'll make it up to you, though...I promise.

 
Also, you can find Flashback #1 here, and Flashback #2 here, and Flashback #3 here, and Flashback #4 here.

Hi everyone, and welcome back! :)

Alley did a great job last week, don't you think? She is here with me now telling me what to do (If you've got a cat, you know what I'm talking about!) :)

So this week, whew, has it been a week already? As the saying goes...time flies when there are boxes to unpack! My arms finally quit hurting on Saturday! Sheesh! I had to keep telling myself that I was simply strengthening my shopping muscles, strengthening my shopping muscles, strengthening... this week we didn't go [to Keep Fit at the Village Hall] because Dave is sick (darn!). He caught a cold and, as luck would have it, it was just better for us to stay home last night than to go to "calisthenics." It's important to take care of our health, now, isn't it! :) hee hee! We'll go back in a couple of weeks for another round of physical torture. Oooh, I just had a brilliant idea...I should go shopping a lot between now and then so that my muscles will be well toned!! Yeah! I like that idea!!


So have you worried about our laundry quandary all week? We figured out a few options. We've got the first idea going right now, and I think it might work for the duration. In the basement/cellar there is a vent in the window that has to always remain open because we have a natural gas boiler...so I just put the dryer in front of that vent and used duct tape to rig the vent hose in front of the slats! It's worked well so far. The thing about it that I don't like is that the washer is in the kitchen, and I wanted the dryer to be in the kitchen as well, but now I have to lug the laundry downstairs (oh, poor me!). However, option 2 is to buy a little vent/lint box that you put the end of the vent hose into and the dryer can go in any room. We might try that if I just can't stand the trek downstairs! :-) Plus, that would add a little bit of heat to the kitchen (which would be nice!) In honor of the solution, I wrote this song. (sing to the tune of "Sounds of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel)

Hello Duct Tape my old friend
You've come to rescue me again.
Because the staffer was clueless,
My tumble dryer was useless.
There was no outlet to vent the dryer,
but now,
We hear the sounds of drying.


You helped connect the vacuum hose,
What you can't do only heaven knows.
Protected us from screen door slams,
You've gotten us out of many jams,
You'll save us if the leg falls off the chair,
and somewhere out there
We hear the sounds of drying.


You come in red, black, yellow and white,
To blend with anything dark or bright.
I even could use silver and blue,
To make Christmas decorations too.
People have even used duct tape on clothes
and somewhere we know
We hear the sounds of drying.

What do you think? Should I submit it to the duct tape people? Another song option I considered was Lionel Richie's "Stuck On You"...

[There was, as always, an Option #3. We put the dryer upstairs in the kitchen, and when I needed to, I would push it over to the door and put the vent hose out the door. Also, I had to put a knee high stocking over the hose to catch the lint so it didn't fly all around. This worked well, although the kitchen got pretty steamy whenever I was drying clothes. I'm glad we're back to normal now!]Are you now in the camp of people that think I just have too much time on my hands and I need to get a job?


I've put my hat in many rings, as jobs go, but no one has called with a job that sounds really good, yet. I got one call about filling in for someone out on maternity leave, but I don't want to take a long-term temporary job for fear that a better permanent job would come and go. [I took that one, and liked it. I was very appreciated, and felt like I did a good job. Then I took a permanent position at another desk after the maternity leave's 6-months were up.] There are some really good looking jobs out there, so I (not so) patiently wait! :) I don't mind, though. I know that you have to put quite a few resumes out to get any hits, so that's what I'm doing. Sadly our printer was damaged in the move, so I'm trying to find a replacement that I like and can afford. The printer is probably 6 years old, anyways, so it's about time, I guess! I'm really glad that most folks want resumes e-mailed to them...then they don't have to know that my printer doesn't work!


I've been doing more driving, going on fun excursions. Now that I've figured out how to drive the Miata on the wrong side of the road, I can start to scan the surroundings a bit more without striking fear into the hearts of oncoming drivers! :) The country-side really is breathtaking. :) Spring is easily my favorite season, but fall has been beautiful here! Its fun to just drive down and see the bright fall colors in the forest. And the leaves are pretty much off the trees, so now we can look out our back door and see down into the valley and across the way. This morning Dave and I were going to school, and the sun was coming up, and it was just a wonderful sight. Big, wide-open, Colorado-type skies...it was nice. Then, around noon, the clouds and the winds came in and ruined a perfectly good day! [I have missed the English autumn. There isn't much autumn here. There's been a whole lot of summer, notsomuch with the autumn.]


But the real excitement has been that Saturday we bought a right-hand drive car for us. It's an older car, therefore it is (a) huge, and (b) inexpensive. :) It's a '95 Saab. It's nothing fancy, but when you come visit, we'll be able to fit you, your luggage, and your driver (i.e., Dave) in the car all at the same time! :) So Sunday Dave drove it to the empty parking lots near the grocery store, we traded places and I practiced getting used to shifting with my left hand, I practiced parking, going in reverse, etc. (Haven't parallel parked, though...that's a scary thought!) Then I went to the grocery store lot and parked near other cars (not next to, mind you, just near...), went through the round-about a few times (okay, I'll be honest, I was too scared to get out of the round-about the first time!) hee hee! Then we filled the gas tank...unbelievable!! UN-believable! We put £49.00 worth of gas in the tank. (That translates to about $90.00!!) Can you believe it!? Ack!! One would think I had a 30 gallon tank...but no, it's only a 13 gallon tank...that's just how shamefully expensive gas is here! Shameful!!! It translates to about $7.00 per gallon. No wonder people ride bikes and trains to work! Yikes!! Thankfully we can go on base and get gas for the low low price of $2.15 per gallon. Oh, I'm so sorry I ever complained about how expensive gas was at home! If only that was something you could send to me in care packages! :) (Probably wouldn't make it past Customs, you think?) So, today was the first day that I drove it by myself without Dave in the car. It was fine...I was a little scared at first. My deepest fear is that I will pass a car parked on my left, and I'll accidentally get too close and sheer the entire left side off my car! I feel like I'm 15 again learning how to drive!! Dave is a pretty good driving instructor, though. He doesn't scream or pull the emergency brake or jump out of the car at the first opportunity or anything! :) It makes you think, though. I could get into just about any size car in the States and be able to drive it, park it, etc. without fear or hesitation. I could somehow sense it's parameters and "bond" with the car (nothing like Mark LeBeau, though...now he's a Master at parallel parking a new car! You're still my idol, Mark!) Here, I feel like I'm scrubbing the edge of the road, when really I'm probably 3 feet from the curb! I'm back to striking fear in the hearts of oncoming drivers again! Ah, well, I got home safely...only stalled out once...Soon I'm off to pick up Dave from school, and it will be my first experience of driving it after dark. But, hey, if I get into an accident with another car, their little Matchbox car will crumble while my tank will stand victorious! (I feel like I'm driving a Hummer!) ;)  [It was a good car...until it caught fire and nearly burned our 150 year-old house down! Yup. Sadly, I can't find any pictures. I know I took some after the fire brigade put out the fire, but I just can't find them. Some day I'll have to tell you the story of that crazy, fateful morning and how different fire fighting is in England.][I also did not get into any accidents while we lived there. Neither did Dave. Although we did have to replace the engine in our second car. Hmmm...what is it with us and British car engines? Doesn't matter now, does it?]

I think that's all our excitement for now! It's the same-old-same-old for Dave at school...nothing new there.


Hope all is well with you!


Love,
Dave, Melissa, Alley, Gypsy and Daisy-princess. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``

What? Mama donn hava pichur of sumpin?

Aaaaahhhhhhh. I donn beleeb it.

What's the Story, Morning Glory?

In all my 36 years, I've never been too adventurous around food. I guess I'm just conservative. (Some might say picky. Whatever.) But right here, right now I want to share with you a new food I've been loving, and it's probably because I plan to introduce it to Mookie that I've been venturing towards this tuber.

Back in June, we had lunch at the Rocky Cola Cafe with Dave's dad, who, I might add, is a wonderful cook and likes to eat good food. The RCC is a typical diner-type place, with Coca-cola on tap and little jukeboxes on each table...so, it's not the kind of place you would expect a person to have a new food experience.  But experience a new food, I did.

To be fair, I've probably eaten this food before, but since I don't remember it, I must not have liked it. This new food experience most likely involves eating the old food in a new way.

You know what I'm talking about, don't you?  Yes, the skinny tuber. The non-potato potato.

The Sweet Potato.

Did you know that the sweet potato is more closely related to the morning glory than the baking potato? Funny, that.

Anywho, back to the old food in a new way. Bob ordered Sweet Potato Fries. Which, okay. Sounds fine. Whatever. I'll try one.

Except. Bob, the great gourmet, ordered them dressed with honey and cinnamon. Honey and cinnamon!!  Now, I knew heaven would be sweet, but I didn't know it could be julienned and fried. Yu-Um.

I know, I know. I'm very late coming to the party, but don't knock the goodness, folks!

So, the next time I was at Trader Joe's, I got a bag of frozen sweet potato fries and served them (with honey and cinnamon) a few weeks later with paninis for dinner. I probably should have baked the whole bag because I was pretty aggressive in stealing them from Dave's plate. It's okay, though, because I had a newborn baby at the time, and I could get away with pretty much anything. Including eating food off my husband's plate. :o)

I've had a few bags of the fries since then (and even shared one fry or two), and I still love love love them. But now that Mookie is eating solids (sorta), I decided I need to figure out what foods other than rice that she'll eat. :o)  And one of the foods I'll try is mashed sweet potatoes.  So last week, I went to the grocery store and purchased one ugly little non-potato. I brought it home, and scrubbed the dirt off, revealing the meat of a tuber that is different than what I expected. I expected it to be a lot more orange in the middle...but it wasn't! It was more like the color of a peach. Next I stabbed it a few times, and put it in the microwave with the intention of baking it, and then mashing it with copious amounts of butter, cinnamon, and sugar. Mmmmm good goodness. Mmmm.

I had put Mookie in the Exersaucer, and, when it was done, I sat down in front of her to eat my sweet sweet potato. And even though I had recently nursed her, she was quite interested in my lunch. Quite. She pulled out the big guns. She cried. Even got tears out! She obviously wanted some of Mama's lunch! So I mashed a bit up extra smooth, and gave her a few little bites. This wasn't how I intended to introduce her to the sweet potato, but she seemed to enjoy it. I bought a few more at the store yesterday, and I plan to start feeding sweet potato to her "officially" next week.

Hopefully, by introducing these foods to her, we will raise a little girl who is less like her picky mama, and more like her eats-just-about-anything papa.

What's She Wearing?

In honor of International Babywearing Week, I thought I'd share a few pictures of how Mookie gets around these days.

I have two, well, okay, three ways to "wear" Mookie. Contrary to what many believe, babywearing is not a new thing. It's been going on for, well, ever. Think papoose. Those mamas wore their babies. I think it's just that more people are doing it these days, and the means by which to wear our babies? Well...tres chic is all I need to say. I get compliments all the time about how happy she looks, how pretty the pouch is, etc. And I just don't know what to say when women say "Wow. They didn't have those when I was having my babies." Because, yeah, they did. It just wasn't as common (or as fashionable) is it is nowadays. There's also been an oodle of positive research done in the last few decades showing the advantages of wearing your baby. Ooodles of it. Babywearing is good stuff, Maynard.

One of my carriers is the common harness-strap-buckle style (similar to the Baby Bjorn, but mine is Eddie Bauer brand). It's good, and I used it a lot when we were travelling in July and August, but I'm pretty much over it now. It was good when she was facing in, but I don't like it now that she wants to face out. She's too flopsy in it. It doesn't hold her shoulders well, and I'm always afraid she's going to fall out. Soooo...that's no good for when I need to get stuff done, but she's demanding that Mama hold her.

The second I've had since she was about a month old. I've referred to it here before, but never graced you with a picture. It's called a "pouch sling" and this one is made by Peanut Shell. When Mookie was smaller, I would put her in it sideways (in a "cradle" hold) where she could look out, but the sling was supporting her entire body. Once she hit 4 months, though, and was able to hold her head up well, I transitioned her to the "lotus" hold. Here's a picture of her in it. If you look closely, it looks like I've just got a baby's head and arm in the pouch, but I assure you, her entire body is in there, all "lotused" up. :o) Her feet are actually about an inch from the bottom of her chin. And she is comfy as an old sofa in this. (Again, as long as Nosy Rosy can see out, she is happy). This is no longer my favorite as she is gaining more and more weight (yay!), and that weight is borne on only one shoulder. This is fine if I'm sitting down, but if I'm walking or standing, it gets achey after about an hour. I'm gonna keep it, though, because it rolls up snug and fits in my diaper bag really well. It's great to have in emergencies (like, when she's screaming bloody murder in Target, ahem). And as she gets older and bigger, there are other ways I can hold her in it. It is, again, tres chic, no?

And the third carrier is a new acquisition. It's called a Moby wrap, and I really love it. I'd seen them before, and knew people that had them, but I was seriously intimidated by them. Where my sling is just one loop of fabric that I put over one shoulder, the Moby is one loooooong (about 6 yards) strip of knit fabric that you have to wrap, wrap, wrap around yourself. I recently had the chance to try Mookie in one, though, and both of us thought it was Da Bomb. There are quite a few ways to hold her in it, so it's very flexible and convenient. I can put her on my back, or facing me, or in the "cradle" hold again if she's sleepy. Mucho possibilities. And, bonus, her weight is borne on both of my shoulders and my back. Yippee!! She loves it, of course, because in the "Joey" position, Nosy Rosy can see everything. AND I get so many compliments.

Tuesday, we went to the mall as a family, and while Dave was in Sears, Mookie and I went to Jo-Anns. We caught every eye, and garnered every smile to be had. She LOVES her Moby, and loves herself in it -- which is clearly evidenced by the miles of smiles she wears.

I never thought I'd be as frequent of a babywearer as I am, but I've learned a LOT about the different styles of soft carriers over at Adventures in Babywearing where Steph encourages every mom and dad to wear their babies. She's got 4 children, and has a vast array of slings, pouches, and wraps. She shows how beautiful it is to wear your baby. I've even learned that it's quite en vogue for little girls to "wear" their dolls in slings! :o) How cute! Nonny and Boo has "hatchling slings" for the little girls. :o) I see a Mama-Baby fashion statement coming in a few years! :o)

Happy Babywearing Week, everyone!

What's New in Mookietown

Because a week wouldn't be a week without, count 'em,THREE milestones.

One, as you know, is the eating of the rice. She's still doing really well with it. You know how some people are famous for their milk moustaches? Well, I think she's gonna be famous for her rice beard. She looks tuff, yo.

Second, we have our second tooth! Thursday was a double-milestone day! The tooth was there in the morning, but it came in like a lamb -- I didn't even notice (as in, she didn't scream or cry or complain about it) until late in the evening when I was putting her to bed. Such a champ! Here's the whole face, then a zoom-in of the toofers.

And, finally, we're "sitting" up. She was pretty strong last night as I sat with her on the floor during our Bible study, she just leaned against me and played, and mumbled, and watched everyone (we can just call her Nosy Rosy because she's gotta be seeing everything.)

So this morning I took some photos. The first is her leaning on me, but she's pretty much sitting by herself. The rest are her progression of "sitting" and then, notsomuch with the sitting. To be honest, I don't feel comfortable calling it sitting because there's a lot of leaning forward going on. But she's on her bottom while she's doing it, so "sitting" it is. She's much stronger -- thus able to stay "up"-- in the morning. I tried to record it this evening, and she just couldn't do it. We'll get there. I'm in no rush.

It's good to have Mama there to help now and then.

See how flexible I am? I can sit on my bottom and lean all the way forward!

Sweet! There's my favorite lion buddy.

Uh....

Ohhhhh. I missed.

That's all for now, but tomorrow I'll put up a picture of Mookie and Moby (the wrap). She loves it when Mama wears her!

Flashback: Adventures in the UK - Part 4

SHE ACHES

Originally emailed to family and friends on November 10, 2004. I had been in the UK for just under a month. I will put new comments in [brackets] to fill in some gaps. Enjoy this flashback...it got quite a lot of, um, attention the first time around! :o) I'll also include some photos.

Also, you can find Flashback #1 here, and Flashback #2 here, and Flashback #3 here.

Well, it's been another week already -- time goes so fast! It's been a fun-filled-action-packed week for us, as usual! (We're such wild and crazy people you know!) Last night we went to "Keep Fit" at the Village Hall. We were told it wasn't much of a difficult workout -- but that wasn't necessarily the case! :o) I am very sore today and so I've asked Alley to write the update letter. I hope you don't mind :o) She thought you might like a cat's-eye-view of our (mis)adventures! :o)  [I will have Alley add new comments as well.]

Alley says... Finally! A chance to be heard! I'm so excited -- most people don't understand, but we cats are highly intelligent and highly communicative. I'm glad Mama is finally giving me a chance to be heard!

So, what has happened this week? Well, obviously Mama and Papa deserted us last night to go to something they called a "work-out." Papa says he's supposed to subject himself to the humiliation and pain because it's in his job description!! I'm glad it's not in my job description! And Mama just came home whimpering. She couldn't pick me up today because her arms and shoulders hurt too much. I think I'm not going to allow them to go again if it's going to interfere with Mama picking me up and paying attention to me! It was even difficult for her to fill my food bowl this morning! She says I don't understand because I'm not svelte. I hate it when she uses foreign words on me! [Mama and Papa only did Keep Fit at the Village Hall for a few more months because they changed the instructor, and Mama didn't like her. Not at all. I was glad because then Mama spent more time with us. Yay for the kitties!]

Sunday Papa went on a bike ride to Guildford with a man from church. He said it took him about an hour to get there, but it took a little longer to get back. It was rainy and muddy. But Mama says she's glad he did it because it helps them to know what he needs for when he starts riding his bike to school. That will be fun because then Mama can sleep in longer! Maybe we can get Papa to fill our bowl early and then convince Mama that he forgot and she'll refill our bowl when she gets up! Hee hee, I'm so smart! [Papa never rode his bike to work because Mama eventually got a job in town and they drove the car together. We also never convinced her to feed us twice. We're still trying, though.]

And yesterday morning a nice man (with a belly like mine) delivered something Mama calls a "dryer" to us. Mama was upset when he got here because supposedly he brought the wrong type? She told the man that in the US, there's only one type of dryer -- the kind that has the vent hose directed to outside. But here, there are 2 kinds -- the kind with the hose, and one called a condenser that doesn't require a hose. We don't entirely understand how that one works, but since this house doesn't have a place to vent the hose, we assumed we needed a condenser dryer. However, the large-bellied man said he was told by the Air Force office to bring a vent hose dryer! Mama didn't know what to do because she had already washed a load of clothes to celebrate the new dryer...and now she doesn't know how she's supposed to dry the clothes! Honestly, I don't like the dryer. There's nothing to watch. [I changed my tune! I came to ♥ the dryer. You'll see.] The washer, though...now that's high-quality entertainment! Our washer at home didn't have a window on the front, but this one does! It's so much fun to watch...I don't know how those clothes get going so fast in the circle! Mama says if I was more svelte I might be able to catch it! You humans like to have popcorn when you watch a movie, well I'm the same way. I like to have a little snack of kitty morsels while I watch the washer. She even took a picture of me watching my favorite show. I love it when she does laundry. And everything smells so nice and flowery...makes me think happy thoughts...

Gosh, it goes SO fast! How does it do that?

Aww. Happy kitty. I love the dryer now! Mmmm, warm cozy goodness.

And Mama and Papa keep taking apart the lovely boxes that I enjoy lazing on. Don't they understand? They have to leave me something! Boxes and big huge pieces of paper are just so much fun for a cat! I can hide out and pounce on Gypsy from atop the box! Or I can get under a piece of paper and quietly wait there for a surprise attack on Daisy (not much of a dog, in my opinion!) She scares easily, though, and won't chase me, so she's not much fun. At least Gypsy will run from me. But I'm starting to feel more like home because I'm recognizing some of my old favorite napping spots. Good cats are very particular and highly selective about their napping spots. My ultimate favorite is right next to the food bowl. I have to protect it from intruders, you know. Another one of my favorites is at the almost-top of the stairs. I like it because I can look down on the living room below and not really be noticed. Mama says I'm trying to be covert. She also says that I like that step because it is wide where I am wide and narrow where I am narrow. Whatever! It's comfy and I'm not afraid I'll fall off! And there are lots of huge windows that let in lots of sunshine (like today) for napping. Mama tried to take a nap today, and she told me she didn't understand how I could take a nap with the sun shining right in my face, but I believe there is a special eyelid adaptation for kitties. Whatever it is, I'm glad I have it and I wish Mama had it. I think she should nap with us more often. I don't think Mama and Papa get enough sleep. Papa goes into his room after dinner and stares into a colorful screen for hours and hours. I guess it's like me and my favorite washing machine show...just because others don't understand it doesn't mean it's not entertaining! But he stays up later than the rest of us, then sometimes on the weekend he will take a nap with us...but just not enough. I've heard that cats need more sleep than humans, but I think Papa simply pushes it too far!

Papa needs to figure out how to sleep ON the pillow instead of under.

 
Mama figured out how to get lamps and telephones last week. It wasn't a very exciting story, so I won't bore you with it. She just went early, found a parking spot a few blocks away, bought them and carried them to the car. Boring. The excitement came when she got them home, though. There were boxes for us to play in while she was assembling the lamps. And then she got the first one plugged in, put in a light bulb, turned it on and felt very proud of herself. She's pretty handy...usually...

...but about 10 or 15 minutes after she turned the lamp on I heard a short buzz, then a loud pop, then the room went dark! It was scary! I had to have a snack to calm my nerves! She took out the light bulb, but it didn't seem broken. She found another light bulb and plugged it in to make sure the lamp still worked, and it did, so she felt better (then she took it out!). But she called the store to ask why that might have happened, and the store clerk was very smart. He said "Are you from America?" Mama said "Yeah..." duh! And the man said that the light bulbs here in the UK are different from the ones in the US and if she had put a US light bulb in, then that might have caused the problem. She read the light bulb, and it said 120v 60Hz 20w. The man said that the bulbs for the UK are different than that, and that she had to find the right kind. He also told her that there were 2 kinds of fittings. One called an "Edison Screw" and the other that has 2 pins coming out the side. So, disappointed in herself, Mama went in search of another, UK light bulb. I tried to comfort her. I told her that I wouldn't have known either...but she told me that it's probably because I can't read and she should have known better!

Here's what I want to know...why does everything have to be so different here? Wasn't Thomas Edison an American? Wasn't Henry Ford an American? Wasn't George Samon (invented the dryer) an American? It's like the Brits have taken everything American and perverted it and made it different and backwards and complicated and confusing! Mama says we'll get it all straightened out sooner or later and that we need to be flexible. Boring! At least Papa gets away with being defiant since he gets to drive his American car on their roads! Hee hee!

Speaking of cars, Mama and Papa are still trying to find Mama a car. She doesn't feel comfortable driving the Miata on these roads. She is pretty sure that she couldn't see the ambulance driver in the round-about last week because of being on the wrong side of the car...but driving a car with the gear shift on the left side really scares her too! She's not left-handed and is afraid it will be scary driving a car with the gears on the left. I tell her she needs to be brave like me. [Mama got used to it. In fact, I think Mama did more driving than Papa during the 3 years we lived there.] And the Miata is too small for big runs to the commissary. She needs to have enough room to bring back big bags of kitty food. I wish she would give me more food. When we lived in Colorado, I could get away with more because Papa would always sneak me a few extra morsels without Mama knowing it, but since Mama is home all the time now, he can't get away with it so easily. Bummer. I have to say, though, that I'm really glad that Mama is home all the time. We can help her with household chores (we help flatten freshly folded clothes by laying on them, we help her make the bed by getting in the middle of it, and watch the washer to let her know when it's finished). We keep her company. We try to convince her to nap more often. We girls call it QMT (Quality Mama Time). We know that when she gets a job, our QMT will be significantly decreased. Hopefully nothing like it was in Colorado, but still!! It gets lonely around here during the day. Daisy just naps all day (She's such a prima donna), and Gypsy tries to find hiding places. They're boring. They don't have conversations with me like Mama does. She understands me so much better than the others. She still doesn't feed me enough, though. [Daisy and I learned to nap together. Mama said we had to share the comfy chair. It's a good thing Daisy was so little, else I woulda had to just sit on top of her.]

You stay in your corner, and I'll take up the rest.

Mama can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving! Maybe she'll have a special dinner and give us a few extra scoops of food to commemorate the bounty from centuries ago... And she read that she has to have her Christmas packages in the mail by November 24th to have them delivered by Christmas! She laughed and said that obviously the postmaster didn't know how Mama and Christmas presents work! She likes to extend the celebration, often into February, or even October! But she does feel more pressure now than she did before. That hasn't motivated her to do much shopping, though! She says she has to be "inspired" to buy presents for people. Plus, she says it's hard to be "inspired" when she looks at these prices! [That didn't change. Mama still owes Aunt Angela a birthday present from July!]

Piles of paper. Ribbons to chew. Warm fires. Man, Christmas if the best day of the year!

Papa says that school is going well for him, but he works really hard, and he hopes that he won't have to put in this many hours as he gets further into his program. He likes it, though, and that makes him happy. And doing crazy things like biking to the city and doing calisthenics make him appreciate the quiet time he gets with his research. [Mama says "Ahem, cough, what was I thinking? Cough, cough."]

Hopefully next week Mama will be injured again and I can write you some more...I like getting all these thoughts off my chest! It's tough being a housecat! :) And she said to tell you this (I don't understand it)...

Tune in again next week to find out how our Dynamic Duo handles their laundry quandary...

Love to all,

Alley, Gypsy, Mama, Papa, and Daisy (snob!)

Rice, Rice, Baby.

For the last couple of weeks:

(A) Mookie has been reaching for my drinks and reaching to my plate when I'm eating;
(B) She's been sitting up (with support); and
(C) She's 5 months old.

In Mama Math, A+B+C = Time to start ...

solids!!!

Egads.

Where did the time go?

In what will be a series of firsts, here is a video of her first rice cereal "snack." She's a skilled little eater! :o) 

Warning: It's about 3 1/2 minutes long.

I know what my favorite part is (you'll hear me laugh at her)...what's yours?

Flashback: Adventures in the UK - Part 3

SHE TRAVELS (and makes up words)

Originally emailed on November 4, 2004. I had been in the UK for about three weeks. I will put new comments in [brackets] to fill in some gaps. Enjoy this flashback! :o) I'll also include some photos.

Also, you can find Flashback #1 here, and Flashback #2 here.

Well, it's finally time for the long-awaited Chapter 3!! Yay for technology!

Where do I start!?

Low-tech Radio In The UK.
In a nutshell, it sucks! I hate it! Dave and I make jokes about it all the time! I guess I'm totally spoiled on American radio where one can actually listen to music (and a variety of it, at that!), rather than a bunch of stuffy radio-dorks talking about the dumbest stuff on Earth (and I mean dum-B-est!) (in fact, I think I should invent the word "dum-worst" just for this occasion!!

And it's mostly "call in if you've ever..." radio. So, for instance, there was "call in if you are a man and you haven't cried at least 1.88 times in the last month..." I'm not kidding. And all I wanted was something to sing along to! Ack! [After a few months we found a pop station in Guildford that we liked.]

And I'm not going to get into the election [Remember, that referenced the 2004 election!], but let me just tell you that it was Agony!! Pure Agony trying to listen and figure out what was really going on!!

Monday I had just about enough! Enough! I have a few CDs unpacked, but they weren't what I was looking for, at all. :-( I wanted a bit of a variety (thus the desire for the radio!) Thankfully, there are a few ladies in the [Colorado] Springs that care about me and my well-being, and they had sent me a care-package, and in it was a CD of a mixture of songs that I could listen to and get the music I wanted and the variety I wanted and not have to listen to anyone say anything like "Who do you love, but haven't told? Call in now and tell them on the radio!" (and this was all, of course, before I had the Internet at home with American radio via the web!)

So, I plugged the CD player into the transformer [because the voltage of electricity is different than in the US] and put the CD in, and pushed play, and the CD spinner started, then stopped, then started, then stopped, then started, then stopped, etc., etc. Argh! Could it be that not enough power was coming through the transformer? I don't know! It was a mess! As they say in the cartoons, "Curses! Foiled again!"

So, I sat for a minute with my head hung low, and Alley came up to me and convinced me that we should try again, and so I picked her up, pushed play one more time, and the CD started, and the music started, and it was such a happy moment for me! Yay! Music of my choice! So, Alley and I slow-danced to the song. (She's a pretty good dancer for a cat!) So, with all that said...when you come visit, don't expect to find anything good on the radio!

"If you have ever danced with your dog or cat, call in now..."

Thank you Linda, Diane, Ashley and Julie! Thank you!

:o)

Chocolate in My World
Ah, yes, onto happy thoughts, now. I'm really hoping this next piece will entice some of you to come visit. ;-) As we were going around London last weekend, I found that there are a number of shops that sell just chocolate! Can you believe it! Ah, what a life I lead! And many of them offer samples...yippee!! So my really exciting discovery was that there is a place not too far from here called Cadbury World! It's like an amusement park for the taste-buds! I told Dave that he has to take me there! (Or maybe like Charlie in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory!) (I wonder if they have Fizzy Lifting Juice there?) (Oh, but I bet they have a chocolate river!!) !) Oooh, I can't wait! I'm not sure when we are going, but I can guarantee you that I will enjoy it to no end! I'll be sure to take loads of pictures! [We never went. 3 years in the near vicinity of vats and vats of chocolate, and we never went. What is wrong with us??]

I wonder if the fondue in Switzerland is really any better than the fondue at the Melting Pot? I'll have to find out and report back to you! (I love this job!!) Hee hee! [We also never went to Switzerland.]

By the way, they have cheese shops just like the chocolate shops...tasters...yumsters!

Inside and Outside Conditions
I heard that some of you got the annual Halloween Snowstorm! It happens every year. Always has. Hopefully, it always will. It's just one of those things from my childhood that I want to always be able to count on -- it snows on Halloween (or there abouts). Here, the weather has been really pleasant, although the mornings are often really grim and dismal (or you could also say dim and grismal...they are about the same thing!) (just invented another word! I'm on a roll here!) (Those of you that have lived in England or Seattle understand exactly what grismal means!). Thankfully, though, it hasn't been that grismal here in Surrey for long stretches. [I hadn't experienced my first, or my second winters. Or the summer of 2007 that felt more like a winter because the entire summer was cold and gray and rainy and dim and grismal.] Like it's sunny outside right now (3:00 pm). And the highs are in the upper 50s, and the lows are in the mid 40s, so it hasn't gotten really bad. Lately there have been some heavy winds, and most of the leaves on the trees in our back "garden" (a.k.a. yard) have fallen off...which really opens up the view! We look down onto a valley, which includes the church yard and the cemetery, and then some incredible estates. I haven't been out in a true rainstorm, yet. I've had the sky spit on me a bit, but no torrential downpours. Which is nice!

As for inside...well, the forecast is not all that great. I see a lot of high pressure boxes that will unload their contents some time in the next day or so. So, take your umbrellas, and your utility knives...and watch your step! ;-) So, that's all to say that there are still lots of boxes that need unpacking, and I suspect that since I've finally gotten the computer up and running, those boxes will just have to wait another day! Maybe I could just decorate around the boxes? Kind of like inventing a new interior decorating style! Would Christopher Lowell approve of the Nouveau Cardboard Chic decorated with strips of packing tape and black magic-marker hieroglyphics? Maybe I'll wait for a rainy day...

We will get a lot done this weekend, though. I don't know of anything going on, so I should be able to do a lot of cardboard damage!

It is fun (and frustrating) at the same time trying to outfit a house with all new electronics and housewares and stuff! We left all our lamps in storage because we knew we couldn't use them here, but there is one room in the house that doesn't have any lighting in it, so we've been using flashlights if we need to go into the room after dark! It's awful! I know, "just buy a lamp!" Frankly, I wish it was that easy! There isn't a department store, a discount store, a home store, etc., anywhere near where we live! And they all close at 5:30 most days! Yesterday I was walking past one and went in to actually buy a couple lamps and some new phones, but I realized that my car was parked about a mile away, and I wasn't very excited about carrying a huge lamp-box through the middle of town! Call me crazy! So, now I'm in the process of figuring out how expensive it will be (and how inconvenient) if I have them deliver them. Honestly, it's not like I could hop in the car, go to Target, and pick up what I need! And the stores are all located in the middle of downtown, where there is absolutely no parking! And since Dave is in school during the day (when the stores are open), it's not like I could have him drop me of, I run in and buy it, then he circles around and picks me up! Not so easy! Or I just wait for Saturday when everyone else on this tiny little island decides to go shopping! (Right! That sounds like fun!) So, I guess it's delivery for us...I am just not a very patient person! I want what I want and I want it now! (such an American!) ;-) [We bought many lamps over time while we lived there, and only the first was delivered because I found the HomeBase (like Home Depot) store, and I also found the Ikea (angels singing)]

Dave's Curvaceous Studies
Well, he is in college, you know...and there are lots of co-eds here! ;-) No, really, his focus is on the skies! Don't worry! He has been spending a lot of time thinking about curves, though...as in satellites and curves and space! He's been solving super-intense "math" problems (I put math in quotes because it's nothing like the math that you and I know and love! Nothing!). But he loves it. He's in his element when he's learning. I can't really say what stage he's at (getting his research approved, I think), or the subject of it, other than to say that it has to do with what he did at Georgia Tech for his Master's, and it has to do with satellites, and gyroscopes, and space, and VCMGs and stuff. And he's taking a computer programming class, so for fun he reads his C++ book (that's our Dave!). He is really enjoying his US Air Force comrades, though. There is, of course, the new 2nd Lt. from USAFA that was Dave's student, now they are studying the same stuff together. James is having a blast here! He is working hard, but he is also taking time to live the life, here, too! ;-) Then Dave met a guy who has been here for 2 years already, so Brian has been a good mentor for Dave as far as getting the lay of the land. And then, surprise surprise, he met one of his 1994 classmates! Jeremy graduated in a different program, and they didn't know each other, but Dave had heard of Jeremy. So it's nice to have a little mini Air Force family here. ;-) [We definitely loved having the AF family around us. We miss them now!!]

It's About Time!!
Our first weekend in London...

Being the geeks that we are, Dave and I spent our first weekend in London in Greenwich of all places!! As in Greenwich Mean Time, as in Zulu Time, as in 0° Longitude, as in "the time never changes here" and it was really fun! I think Dave geeked out on it more than I did, though! ;-) He saw some things that he taught about at the Academy, and learned some more things, and we went to a planetarium show, and there is this big huge ball that slowly drops at 12:58 pm, and it hits the bottom at exactly 1:00 pm, so you always know how to set your watch! And there was a lot of history in it, and science (more his science than my science, but science nonetheless!) And it was really cool to be there when the time changes everywhere else, but not there! Yes, we are geeks! So, of course, we set our watches by GMT to the second. (Unfortunately, this means that now I have no excuse for my tardiness! Darn!) [The time did change in Guildford, though, just in case that's confusing.]

Spanning two hemispheres.

The GMT clock.

See the big red ball? Dropped.

And we went to a pub for dinner...although they were out of the traditional pub food so we had to settle for regular stuff! What pub in its right mind is out of Bangers and Mash!?!? I guess I'll have to try again another day! [Oh, how I miss the Linconshire sausages. I miss mash with onion gravy. I never thought I would miss the English fare!]

And we went everywhere on the trains because Greenwich is on the other side of London from us. We did fairly well, considering it was the first time in 8 years for me, and more than that for Dave! I think there was only one train that we had to jump off of before it took us to the wrong place! ;-) [Over the 3 years, we really mastered the trains. And miss them when we're stuck in traffic now.]

I don't know what our next excursion will be (I'm obviously hoping for Cadbury World!) but I'll let you know when we go! [I think the next trip was to the Eden Project after Christmas. It was awesome. Though not as awesome as Kew Gardens.]

Crazy Americans!!
Well, I've driven a lot more this week than I had last week. It's not really that bad, except when there are other people on the roads...that tends to complicate things a bit! Dave does a really good job driving in all of it and keeping his cool...unlike me! And we're going to start the process of finding me a right-hand-drive car of my own (Ack!)

So Tuesday, I decided I was brave enough to go buy a computer monitor from someone in the classifieds. They gave me directions, and I ventured off. Unfortunately, their directions weren't as precise as I needed them to be, and I missed the exit. What happens when you miss the exit? It forces you to keep driving on the major roadway to London! Thankfully I'd been on the road with Dave a few times, so I wasn't worried that I could get back, I just knew that there were a few obstacles in my path...like round-abouts! So I got to the round-about, and after a few prayers, I started in and kept thinking "I am smarter than this round-about. I am smarter than this round-about." Kinda like chanting a mantra! So, it worked, and I made it back the other way towards home, and I decided that was enough excitement for me, and I would wait another day for a monitor. [I eventually got the monitor...except I locked the keys in the car at their house, which was a new comedy of errors trying to get back into the car.]

So Wednesday, I had to do a little more driving, more into town. Which was fine, until I met my new friend, the round-about. This was a little more frightening than the one the other day because it was smaller and busier at the same time! And people really are psycho about the round-abouts, and you just have to gun it and get out there and hope you don't hit anyone! 

Well, I did okay, except I'm pretty sure the ambulance driver wasn't honking at me because she thought I was sexy...

That's all for now.

Love and Hugs to all,

Dave and Melissa