Minivan Musings

I always wanted a minivan.  Okay, maybe not while I was in college.  However, when I first drove a minivan for a conference in Florida I was hooked.  Although, I knew that I needed more of a reason to actually have one other than a couple of conferences a year.

Fast-forward a few years and I am married with kids.  I figured someday we would have a minivan but I thought that day would be when we were expecting child #3 as we had a SUV that worked well at the time.  Not too long after we had Miss A we got our van.  A gem of a find on Craigslist.  Needless to say, I was thrilled!  Only two kiddos and we had our van.  It would be a few months later we would find out that Miss S was on her way.  HA!

Anyway, the story of how we got our van and why is not the reason for this post.  One thing I noticed on the road is that minivan drivers sometimes were going super fast. (Or sometimes super slow)  But I would notice them fly by me at times (and I was going a bit over the limit...ahem).  I would get so uppity because they had their kids in there and they were flying by like a bat out of... well.. you know.  Compromising safety, blah, blah... like those in minivans were held to some other standard.

Well, I think I know why minivans go speeding by....

...the kids are screaming and they are just trying to get home as fast as they can because whining and crying in a car sounds about 10 decibels louder than it actually is.

...there is a preschool aged child that has frantically notified her mother that she needs to go to the bathroom and WILL NOT use a public bathroom.  She will, however, relieve herself in her car seat should you not get home fast enough.

...there is a woman in the back about to give birth.

Now, I may or may not know about one or all of these things.  Ha!  I am sure some are just driving like crazy because...well... they are.  However, these have been my musings as of late as I drove back and forth to the hospital to see Miss S.

It made me laugh.

Do you have minivan musings??

Something New

I am ready for the fall season to begin.  I long for the changing of the leaves.  Although, that doesn't happen here.  I long for cooler weather... which may be, in part, due to the fact that our AC is out and it's about 83 degrees in the house.  On the up side, the repair man is here as I type.  There will be dancing when he is finished.

In a nutshell, here's what has been going on here...

July could not go by fast enough.  My grandmother died on the 1st which was quite expected.  We had her funeral on the 4th in Nebraska.  Soon after that Husband and I headed to New Mexico to help finish packing my dad's house.  While there I found out that my cousin passed away.  Her funeral was on the 25th and I was off to Nebraska yet again.  It was just a hard month and I was glad to see it end.

August then went by entirely too fast!  My dad moved in with us as he searched for a new house here in the Valley.  Oh yes, did I mention that my dad is moving out here?  Yes, we never thought it would happen but here he is adjusting to the heat quite well.  He purchased a house in Surprise and closed on it yesterday.  Let me just say, September is moving as fast as August!

Soon it will be Christmas...

...okay, so I have a new post up and I am going to work on some other things that I thought have been interesting over the last few weeks.  Hopefully, you will find them equally as interesting.

Polly Want a Cracker?

Anyone who reads this blog or knows me knows that A) I am an avid people watcher B) sometimes I see really random things C) I am fairly observant and D) (how appropriate that it came to the letter D) that I still love Dunkin' Donuts even though they don't carry my favorite donut here in Arizona anymore.  Well, all of these things met in perfect harmony on Sunday while making our way to church.  As you probably know, Husband likes to treat me to DD from time to time.  We left the house early, a little tired because we had yet to have some coffee, and made our way to the newly renovated DD on 19th Ave and Northern just off the 17.  We tried one of their new bagel sandwiches (delightful) and of course had a donut and ICED coffee.  An interesting mix of people always frequent DD's no matter the locale.  As we were leaving I had to stop dead in my tracks and call Husband's attention to my latest encounter...

...there sat a man in his car with his little dog and the window rolled down.  No big deal, right?  Well, on the window ledge was a Senegal Parrot walking back and forth and observing himself in the side mirror!  Of course we paused to talk to the friendly gentleman.  He told us how he takes his dog and parrot on a walk.  The dog on a leash and the parrot perched on his shoulder.  He made sure to tell us that his wings were clipped and he would not fly away.  The parrot's name is "Gunny" and just as I was getting ready to ask if the gentleman had been in the Marine Corps he said, "He reminds me of a drill sergeant I had in the Marine Corps, bossy, bossy, bossy!"  We laughed.

Oh how I wanted to take their picture and place it here!  But I didn't know how I would get the photo from my phone to the computer.  Even if I did, I don't think the resolution would have been very good.  Such is life... you will have to use your imagination.  Darn it for not having the camera with me this ONE time!  Ugh.

I guess the man's wife was in the store picking up their Sunday treats, too.  I hope I see these folks again.

In case you were wondering, I have now adjusted my top places for people watching...

1.  University Campus
2.  Airport/Train Station/Bus Station
3.  Dunkin' Donuts
4.  People driving (but one should only do this if you are the passenger!)

Shades of Green

I am sure that Husband will give that "look" and sigh when he reads this.  Then I will laugh.  You see, he didn't realize that he married a green girl.  Well, that's what he would say.  I would just tell him that I am not but he doesn't agree.  Let me first state that I probably wouldn't recycle if we didn't have a recycle day.  I am thinking about making my own laundry soap only because I think that it would be fun.  I opt to do cloth diapers because I was tired of the "blowouts" and THEN it became fun because there are so many options out there.  I try to get Husband back about being green because we have a bi-fuel car.  Really, in the end it was about saving money... not the environment.  Once a friend legitimately used the phrase "sustainable living" in a conversation with me and I laughed.  Thankfully, it was via e-mail.  I probably should have refrained from laughing but I could hardly stifle the giggles.

I will say that I don't agree (obviously) with the global warming mumbo jumbo.  Is the climate changing?  Sure.  I am sure that the climate has continued to change at some level since the Lord created the heavens and the earth.  Is it caused by Man?  I doubt it.  Do I think that we should try to be good stewards of the earth?  Sure.  However, what that means to different households can run the gammut of things.  I will try to respect your prespective if it goes a little further down the road than mine... as long as you respect the fact that I am not that far down the road.

Well, now you had a look into a not really green, but people might think we are green, household.  With that said, I love my cloth diapers and if you want to chat about them it won't take much to get me started.  :)

And What to Drink?

Not too terribly long ago I buzzed through a local drive-thru place to grab some lunch as my Little Flower had fallen asleep after an appointment and I had precious minutes in the car to eat in silence as I made the 20-minute trip home.  

I placed my order of a sandwich and my beloved fries.  Ahh.  Then when asked what I wanted to drink I replied, "Diet Coke, please."  They repeated it back to me but I should have known then that something would go awry when the confirmation screen simply said, "Coke."

I pulled away, grabbed a couple of hot fries, and reached for a swig of beverage.  At first I thought they did give me my requested drink but one more swallow would confirm they had not.  I wasn't sure I would be able to get the stuff down at first.  However, I made it go down a few more times.  It was then that I realized a couple of things.  First, I was pretty positive that the mix in the fountain must be a bit off.  Second, I have been ruined by "diet" forever, it seems.  I used to be able to drink regular Coke with no problem and could interchange at will but still a strong draw to the "diet."  On this particular day it was confirmed that I am a Diet Coke girl and there is no going back.  As you can see in the photo the Diet Coke is basically gone.  We keep the Coke around for whoever wants it.  Usually for my father-in-law or my Papa if he opts for it.

Guess it all works out for the good as Husband is also a Diet Coke drinker...  Actually, he's the one that did this to me.  :)  Well, I was drinking Diet Pepsi when we met and he brought me to the light.

Radio Static

Shushing a baby works wonders to calm them down.  Usually the louder it is the better it works.  I sometimes have to get right up into Little Flower's ear to override her cry.  A vaccum works well, too.  It's all about them remembering the soothing sounds of the womb -- mama's heart beat and the swooshing of blood.  I read that the sound can be twice that of a vaccum.  Interesting.

What do you do when there is no vaccum and you can only "shush" so loud without spit getting on the windshield?   (ha ha ha!)

Well, find yourself a static station on the radio and crank it up.  It will catch their attention, calm them down, and maybe even put them to sleep.  Works well when just the movement of the car doesn't fully cut it. 

Just don't plan to have any conversations until baby is asleep and you can turn the static off.

Numb

It's rather odd that I had major surgery 7 weeks ago and I still have some numbness in my abdomen area.

It's true.

I went for my final check-up and told them about this tingly, numb, weird feeling.  I told them that it wasn't on my incision but near there and doesn't seem to radiate as far out as it had before.  The doctor then told me that the numbing medicine can linger in the body for weeks and that was most likely the issue.

Awesome.

Oh, yes... and Flag Etiquette

I finally remembered what the other thing that occurred to me while I was watching the events of today unfold on TV.

Flag Etiquette.

As a variety of dignitaries were being seated (I think at this particular time it was members of the Senate) a particular man came our wearing the American flag.  This is where I throw the foul flag!  The American flag is not to be donned as a piece of clothing.

You can check out more here at Flag Code

Yes, it's one of my many peeves coming from a military family.  It also helped that my Civics teacher in high school went over this in great detail.

Presidential Chivalry

I opted to watch some of the inauguration coverage this morning on NBC when I would normally be watching on FOX News.  However, while feeding Little Flower it was the channel that the TV was already set.  It's entertaining to listen to what the press notices.

I found it interesting that one man said that "husbands around the country will be in trouble this afternoon" with their wives because President-Elect Obama has been noticed to wait for his wife as she gets out of the car and even <gasp> opens the car door for her when she is getting in and out.  I was glad that another commentator noted that President George W. Bush did the same thing for Mrs. Bush.

My thought on the whole thing... Well, he should!!!  I don't think that chivalry was meant to be relegated to the office of President.

I think it's a function of showing how one cherishes his wife.  My sweet Husband goes well out of his way to do this for me and I love it.

There was something else that I found rather funny in the coverage and now that I am here writing about it I cannot for the life of me remember what it was.  Oh well.  If I remember later I will be back.

Back Log of Blogs

Well, it's almost been a month since thoughts poured forth on a random variety of subjects to this space.  My dad commented yesterday that he missed reading my musings.  We will see how this all continues when the baby comes in a few weeks.  However, my dad's comments did somewhat inspire me to try and work  on the things that I have been thinking about since I last posted.  So, I will try and catch up on a few things.  I will date them "in the past" but I think that they will be prefaced with "Blog Back-log."  (and will be added before this post - so scroll on down)

So, stay tuned for updated things from elections to baby shower.

Blog Back Log: Election Day

I voted today.  As though you couldn't tell by my spiffy little sticker.  However, this sticker is different from any other "I voted" sticker that I have seen before.  Husband was a little jealous of it when he saw it.

Tonight we will grab some chicken wings from a favorite local restaurant and settle in with Fox News (and other channels) to watch the national results come around.  We are also quite interested in some local races and issues that are on the ballot.

America, where shall we go from here?

Trick or Treat?

Friday, as you know, was Halloween.  Husband and I were pretty excited to spend a fairly quiet evening at home passing out candy.  I got a great deal on some yummy candy - oh about 100 pieces in two bags.  We had a pretty good showing last year.  I thought we would almost run out this year since the day was on a Friday.  We didn't carve a pumpkin but we made sure to turn on lights to let folks know we were, indeed, home.  Neither one of us are super into Halloween but we like to see the little ones all dressed up.  I thought that the little ones would be around about dusk and the older kids after dark... anticipating a slow down around 9:00 PM.

 

Yeah... so what I thought would happen was very different from what ACTUALLY happened.

Our first trick-or-treaters came at about 7:15 PM (about an hour after I thought they would start) and we had two very excited princesses on our patio.  I was excited for the parade to start.

Little did I know that would BE the parade.  Two little ones all night.

Unfortunately, I opened the bags of candy to put in a festive bowl.  So, now we are stuck with all the mostly chocolaty goodness... darn.  hee hee!

On the upside, we got a kick our of making my tummy into a little pumpkin at 30-weeks.

Hands

Hello, my name is Jessica and I am an avid people watcher.

"Hello, Jessica."

It's true.  Sometimes when I go out to run errands I get excited about what kind of things I will encounter with people in society -- whether they intend to be noticed or not.  I watch people in their cars (which I do more frequently these days because my husband usually drives us places), I watch people in the store, wherever.  There are times that I think back to college and if I had to do it all over again and think maybe I would have been a sociology major... or probably not.  I could write a book on people, I think.

It's not that I am staring at people by any means.  I have this uncanny knack to notice things.  Although, one might dispute that when I cannot find my keys and they are laying in plain sight on the counter.  Sheesh.  My husband wonders if I pay attention in church sometimes because I notice what the children are doing or this or that.  When I can then tell him details from the sermon he shakes his head and replies, "I still don't know how you do that."  Such is life.

I tell you all this to set you up for my latest encounter.  Public bathrooms are not my favorite place and not usually a place one sets up to people watch.  Well, I didn't really watch this person but rather observed her actions from within my own little stall.  If given the opportunity, I will usually wait until the bathroom is clear to do my business.  A girl likes a little privacy.  Anyway, I listened as the woman next to me was leaving.  I noticed her fun little shoes and off she went.  Wait.  The door opened.  She's gone.  I missed something.  ARGH!  She didn't wash her hands!!  Now, I am pretty sure she out in the store thumbing through fabrics and spreading the germs.  Yuck.  I may not have thought it so bad had the craft store bathroom been even slightly pristine but that was not the case. 

I am not one most would consider a germaphobic-type.  I could probably handle it if someone "forgot" to wash their hands at home but would obviously prefer them not to forget said step in leaving the bathroom.  I mean, what do you do when you go camping and you forget the "wet-ones" among other things.  Sigh.

With all that to say as I continued my shopping business I was looking for the woman's cute little shoes which would not be hard to find.  It's probably a good thing that I didn't spot her.  It's probably better not to have a face with the action this time.  It helps me to think maybe she left the store without touching anything.

Belly on Up to the Bar

... almost literally!

Husband and I began the first night of four (over the next few weeks) of child birth classes.  The lady teaching our class was a trip.  She said that she would only be teaching that first night -- which I am kind of bummed and glad about.  She recently retired as a nurse and is a spitfire.  I was pretty sure she was on something - not really, but you know what I mean.

We had to laugh when she was telling us stories of what kinds of things they used to give women in labor back in the day when she started her nursing career.  One in particular was the giving of alcohol and moms would just be drunk as a skunk when they delivered.  I cannot remember if it was to slow contractions or to get them to relax or what.  But she did a great impersonation of what this might look like.  She agonized over the fact that it would tap right into the main IV line.  It was kind of funny.

So, we are thankful that there have been other advances in medicine since then.

157,489

That's how many miles my little trusty 2000 Plymouth Neon had on it when I said good-bye on Sunday.  Sigh.  We were tired of the "three car shuffle" in our drive way and God certainly ordained the timing and the sale of the car.  It was a good time to say good-bye.

I bought this car (well, it was purchased for me) in May of 2000 with a mere 17 miles on the odometer.  We've come a long way baby!  All those glorious miles are mine and boy I have been a few places in this car.

It made a few trips from New Mexico to Nebraska while I was in my senior year of college.  I put on a few hundred miles to cover a soccer game and then go see my cousin get married.  Then there was that trek out to Yellowstone the day after I graduated from college (I got stopped in Cheyenne, WY for going 80 in a 75 - drove away with a warning well taken).  I explored the national park for six weeks, encountered a buffalo, and drove back to NM.  Of course there are the commuter treks back and forth from Los Lunas to Albuquerque to work, visit friends and family, and more over the years as I lived and worked in the Albuquerque area.  Of course, there were a few trips to Lake City, CO where a Neon has ventured into places no Neon should probably ever venture.  I think it had a SUV complex.  No worries - there were no scratches or mud where there shouldn't be any.  There were many a random trip around the state of New Mexico for this or that and to visit a campus here and there.  The summer of 2004 had to be one of my favorites - I drove from Albuquerque, NM to Ocean City, NJ and back, with side trips from New York on up into New Hampshire (and a slight detour into Maine because I missed my turn.  It turned out for the best because I then got to explore some exquisite NH back roads).  All in all that summer I tacked on 7,000 miles by myself.  It was fun...no, it was grand!  In 2006, it was a luggage hauler for the college students that I took down to New Orleans for hurricane relief work.  Of course there was a trip to Arizona (the rest of the time I flew) and now there have been a couple of trips back to New Mexico in the little Neon.  It's been a great car, I tell you what.  Never did it get below 30 miles to the gallon... the best ever was when it got 37 miles to gallon.  WOW.  My fun little stick shift.

So, now I drive the 4-Runner.  It's not bad by any means.  It will be better to get in and out of with a prego belly that will in a matter of months be a baby in a little car seat.  It will be easier to maneuver the automatic with kids in the back, too, as well as deal with traffic during rush hour.  Even today at the doctor I was told my hips and back may do better without having to twist and turn out of the little car that is much lower to the ground than the 4-Runner.  I am not bummed about the 4-Runner, it was more the saying good-bye to what the Neon represented in my life.  It was like the perpetual souvenir of all the places I have been over the last 8 1/2 years.  Now, it is with a family that needs it more than I do now.  It will be trucking across the Valley of the Sun and tacking on more faithful miles.  On the up side, I know the family so maybe I will see glimpses of the Neon from time to time.

The 4-Runner and I will make new adventures... on to my third car in life.

For some reason, the song "Saying Good-bye" from the movie, The Muppets Take Manhattan, keeps running through my head.  Well, only a certain part...

Wanna laugh, wanna cry... it's time for saying good-bye... la la la... la la la... it's time for saying good-bye.

I wasn't around for the final transaction of the sale, which was probably for the best.  I had some things to take care of and then he came to tell me that the Neon was gone and he watched it drive away.  I'm not going lie... I teared up a bit.  I think I will chalk some of it up to being a little more sensitive these days... umm... yeah, that's it. 

Thanks for the memories, little Neon!

Dunkin' Donuts Disappoinment

Sigh.

Several months ago Dunkin' Donuts closed all but one store in the valley to remodel and open new stores in the valley.  Today was to be the big day.  Husband even joked that I should be there at 5 AM when they opened.  Glad that I didn't do that!

I planned a big day of running errands only to be topped off by one of my favorite donuts (because you can get away with anything when you are prego) and an iced coffee.  I pull into the establishment closest to us only to find a sign below a balloon arch that read as follows:

Due to circumstances beyond our control we are not able to open today.

WHAT?!?!  Say it ain't so.  I am not sure if that was the case for all the new openings but it was a very sad end to a pretty productive day.  Such is life.

I like DD for so many sentimental reasons... 

...random stops there when I was a wee lass with my Papa

...milk and donuts at midnight with Lynn-O while in Ocean City, NJ (walking there in the ocean mist moving in)

...coffee and donut dates with Ren while in Albuquerque

...random stop on a Sunday morning when my dear Husband wants to surprise me.

Then today... disappointment.  Hopefully, they will open soon or it was just this one particular store.  I need me some Dunkin'.  :)

Fruits of Summer

Have you recently walked into your local grocery store or farmers market only to be overwhelmed by the most luscious scent ever?  Well, if not you should march yourself on down to your favorite place to purchase produce and partake in the goodness of fruit now available.  In a couple of different stores I have had the great olfactory experience of fresh and delightfully ripe peaches waiting consumption.  WOW.  It's amazing.  I really just want to sit in the store all day.  I now envy the store greeter's job as he gets to stand there all day as the aroma wafts over him as the doors slide open and closed.  Sigh. 

I think this is quite amazing for a pregnant woman to go ga-ga over any type of food!  I would have added pictures of the peaches but they are long since gone.  And really, pictures don't make up for the really smell of it all.  Just go down to the store and find out for yourself.

In other fruit news... when I moved here after our wedding there was a lot that I would need to adjust to experiencing.  I still have a hard time that I am actually seeing palm trees and cactus in the same landscape, however, it is becoming more of the norm for me.  The other thing was the abundance of fruit that Arizona produces.  Many folks have no need for the produce section at the local grocery but rather just pop out back to harvest limes, oranges, grapefruit, plums, pomegranates, one family I know has grapes, and I am sure there is a plethora or other things that I am forgetting.  My sweet mother-in-law has a plum tree that just would not quit!  She had more than she really knew what to do with.  However, in her resourcefulness she made plum jelly.  Yes, another WOW moment.  Delicious!  Plus, it's SO very red!  She was impressed with the color that I am sure someone would of thought she added coloring.  But no, it's all natural.  Yet another project that I hope she will teach me in the future.

So, while it's incredibly hot here (although the monsoons have arrived early!) there is still plenty to do and enjoy!

A Long Pause...

It's amazing how fast time goes by these days.  I think to myself, "I have several things to post about and I should be able to get them done soon... maybe even today."  And then about 12 days roll by and you are pretty sure you just had that "self conversation" just yesterday.

I have been behind in some other areas these last few days as the schedule as been a bit fumbled here and there for a variety of reasons.  Then I can have the best intentions to get certain things done and the pregnancy sleepies take over.  It's amazing how tired one can be these first few weeks.  However, when I see how much the little one grows each week I am then not so surprised that I am just wiped out at times.

I have been feeling pretty well for the most part.  No, I don't hang out with the toilet at all.  But when I feel nauseated it's because I am tired or I need to eat.  And what I really like to eat these days are chicken nuggets and chicken strips.  It's odd to me.  Oh well.  My dessert at night are usually berry flavored Tums.  All this could be worse, I have been told.  So, I am thankful that have what I have and that the baby seems to be doing well so far.

With all that to say, I think we can say that there will be more posts in the near future.  Goodness, we even have a new ultrasound to share with you all.  I just wanted to let you know that I am still here and it's still worth checking in from time to time.

UNM Shout Out from NBC

My sweet husband really enjoys watching the show ER.  Last night was no different as we settled in to watch the beloved show.  However, within the first few minutes of the show I looked at Husband and asked, "Did I really hear that?"

Sure enough.

Some new character on the show is a 4th year med student doing some rotation from the University of New Mexico.  It was entertaining as there was small talk about being a lobo (the mascot, a wolf - in case you didn't know) and watching football games as well as which family members had season tickets, etc.  It was still strange to me as I had Husband rewind so I could see it again.  Nutty.  Of course she has the token Spanish surname name.  Oh well.

Props to UNM getting a little shout out from the writers at NBC.  I have heard that UNM has a pretty good med school and a few of my friends are a product of that system.  Apparently, we have arrived.  HA!

Driving Distractions

While driving on the Loop 101 on Friday afternoon Matt and I saw an unusual sight...

...A silver mail box affixed to a wood post...

Not so odd until you know that the mail box is smack-dab in the middle of highway CONSTRUCTION!  It's true.  There it was in the midst of all that was going on and we flew past it at about 65 MPH in the thick of traffic. 

We laughed and looked at each other to confirm that we had both just seen what we thought we had seen.  Goodness.  Then we laughed as we joked about what the address might be...

Construction Site 529
Between Indian School and Thomas-ish
East Valley
Loop 101, AZ  85000

HA!  It was entertaining and yet another moment in which I would like to figure out how to snap a photo of it without getting mauled by a car or have a variety of "waving" from passers-by.