AliBlog

Do you know how God made us?

"He colored us on a long piece of paper and waited for a long, long time.  Then He cut us out and put us on an airplane. Then we were here."

That's what Robey told me at lunch. Shortly afterwards, I was online checking my blog subscriptions and found out from amba that today is Rumi's birthday.

And that reminded me of the quote I put on the first page of Robey's baby book, from Rumi, of course:
"We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars like dust."

As realpc says in the comments of amba's post, "... But then I don't think anything is random in this world."

If I hear the word futuristic one more time ...

Sorry to anyone who was still enjoying that Heineken spot. It had to come down. I couldn't stand to hear that song at full volume even one more time.

Next time you design an interactive advertising experience, dear Heineken, I suggest including some user controls for the final product (play, pause, volume, etc.).

Dog will hunt

Me: This is Girls, Girls, Girls by Motley Crue.

Robey: Why's him singing about girls?

Me: Because he likes girls.

Robey: Is it about a fox showing his tail to the girls?

Me: No ... well ... actually, I guess it is.

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Me: This is Jerry was a Race Car Driver by Primus.

Robey: It's about a different Jerry?

Me: Right, not Uncle Jerry. Your daddy and Aunt Shanny really like this song. It's about a strong man and a race car driver.

Robey: Is him gonna wreck his car?

Me: Yep. He's gonna wrap it around a pole.

Not to complain ... but toddlers are exhausting

Chasing an active toddler around your house is hard work. What's even harder? Chasing an active toddler around other people's houses. What's even harder than that? Chasing an active toddler around a campsite with a river on one side, a road on another, and a bon fire, a dog and a patch of poison ivy in between.

Carrying a needy toddler around on your hip is a workout. What's even harder? Carrying around a needy 18-month-old toddler who's in the 90th percentile for weight (28 pounds or so). What's even harder than that? Carrying a 28-pound toddler on your hip when you're also carrying around an extra 20 pounds of pregnancy weight. In case you're counting, that's 48 pounds of extra weight to carry all around the house, in and out of rooms and up and down stairs.

Getting up in the middle of the night with a fussy, teething toddler is exhausting. What's even harder? Getting up two or three times in the middle of the night with a fussy, teething toddler when you're seven months pregnant and really need a solid eight hours of sleep per night. What's even harder than that? Getting up in the middle of the night with a fussy, teething toddler and not being able to go back to sleep because you're seven months pregnant and you're highly allergic to the weeds that grow in the fall.

I've been waiting and waiting to get over the first trimester exhaustion phase of this pregnancy. With Robey that phase ended around week 13. With Moe it was around week 16. This time? Right now I'm 26 weeks, and I'm just coming to terms with the fact that the exhaustion phase of this pregnancy isn't going to end.

When might it end? Probably not until after the little girl in my belly is past the active, needy, won't-sleep-through-the-night phases of toddlerhood herself. So, check back with me in 3 years. Maybe I'll have my energy back by then.

Two quick Robey moments

In the car the other day, Robey asks me, "Mommy, when are you going to grow up to be a Daddy?"

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After kneeling on top of a bar stool and reaching farther than physics allows for a pack of M&M's, then heading face first for the kitchen floor (still reaching for the M&M's), Jeromy grabs Robey's arm and and suddenly stops him just inches from a certain face brake. Robey says,  "Good save Daddy, good save."