He Swims

Ethan Swims

He Sleeps

Ethan Sleeps

The Dollar Store Phenomenon

After the last rather depressing post, I feel I should write about something a little more uplifting (perhaps a post containing fewer run-on sentences and more subjects). Have you ever noticed how when you go in to a dollar store to buy two things, you end up spending at least $10. No? I do. I have friends who like hardware stores, and friends who like drug stores... I like dollar stores. If they were bigger, I could spend hours browsing. As it is, I can sweep through, pick up the bargains and leave happy: one bag of yogurt covered pretzels, one bag of cacahuates con chile, one package of tissue paper, one gift bag, three cards. Total: under $6.75. The Dollar Store. For everything else, there's Mastercard.

Coming soon... pics of Ethan swimming.

How We Spend Our Weekends

Here's why we're tired and haven't blogged any the past week, and it has nothing to do with having a four-month old:

Last Friday while packing to go to drill, we couldn't find Matt's insurance card for the car, so we looked through files and found a copy of the policy; that took about an hour, but it was a minor setback. We packed up the car and Ethan, discovered it wouldn't start, jumped it, went to get gas, it died again, jumped it again, drove home, unpacked all the stuff, put it in my car, and headed to Ft. Worth. On the way, our brakes went out on I-20 south of Dallas as people were slowing down/stopping to see an accident (WHY do people DO that!!??). We swerved in and out of slowing/stopping cars (fortunately Matt was driving), made it to the shoulder and stopped with the emergency brake just behind the police officer who was at the accident. I thought we were going to hit him. Actually, I thought we were going to hit a lot of people. At one point, I yelled, "Should I call 911?", but realized that I wouldn't know what to say: "911. What is your emergency?" "We haven't had one yet, but we're about to crash!!" Matt found this to be the biggest comic relief of the weekend. Call 911. What would they do??

We towed the car to Arlington to a VW place where they said they would try to work it in tomorrow and rented a car; continued trip to Fort Worth. The dealership people looked at the car, said it was fine, and gave it back the next day. Conclusion: we must have had an air bubble in the brake lines. Drove to Dallas to meet friends that night, got back late. Got lost in north Fort Worth the next day with another officer on the way to a YMCA... it was a few miles from base, but we drove over 80 mi. During this time, my phone was stolen (I accidentally left it at a gas station while asking for directions); Dad said, "How do you know someone stole it?" Easy. I called my number, and talked to the guy, who wouldn't give me any contact information and claimed he didn't have a phone number. Right. That's why he took my phone. He said he'd take it back to the gas station. Um hum. Promptly cut off the phone. Uneventful trip back home, but somehow we managed to crush Matt's phone under the seat on the way. It still works. Good thing, because we discovered how expensive cell phones are if you buy one without a plan. While I was at work, Matt called the phone insurance place, I filed a police report, they sent me a new phone, and Matt got my phone service up and running. We decided it was the WORST WEEKEND EVER. We're glad we're both patient and still love each other. Ethan just went along for the ride.

Ethan Meets His Second and Third Cousins

Moore Family Reunion and Visit to Grandma and Poppa's

We've got pics of both sides of the family here, my extended family and Matt's grandparents. Ethan charmed them all.

Ethan, Grandma & Poppa

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This was on Matt's graduation day, as well. By this point, Ethan had had enough graduating.

Matt's Graduation

We have two words for this: Yeah, baby!!!!

What We're Up To (aside from ending phrases with prepositions)

We're looking into Mommy & Me swimming classes for the summer, planning to do some lap swimming, working on transplanting ferns and herbs in the yard, and planning to buy some hydrangeas and begonias next week. I've registered for a couple of (non-clinical) nursing classes in the fall, and plan to start the distance program at Texas Tech in the spring. Ethan's learned to spit and grab his toes, and occasionally does both at the same time. He's also laughing and smiling more.

Activities for Nursing Moms (Other than Nursing)

What I've been doing lately (quickie activities, because I still fit them in between feedings):
1. Listing books for sale on Amazon.com. Mostly old books Matt doesn't need, because I have a hard time parting with mine.
2. Baking Biscotti for Mother's Day. I gave them all away, so I guess I'll have to make more.
3. Making wishlists of nursing clothes, since I'm tiring of tee shirts.
4. Crunches. Still easier than situps.
5. Pumping. Ethan's weight isn't catching up (in fact, it seems to be dropping), so I am pumping more.

Daddy Reads to Ethan

Daddy Reads to Ethan

Right now Ethan's favorite books are:
Noah's Arkby Lucy Cousins
Where Is Baby's Belly Button?by Karen Katz
Duck in the Truckby Jez Alborough and
Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouseby Judy Schachner