Visiting Missouri

A week from now the boys and I will be in MO, visiting our friends and family, eating the wonderful ... oh wait, sorry.

Then again, I chose this time to visit because it was a time when Eric will be having to work like crazy and will have no time for the family, and also because it will be during the Knob Noster (yes, I come from a town called Knob Noster. go ahead, laugh, get it over with. Done now?) Fair, so I will be eating one of my favorite yummy junk food creations ever ... FUNNEL CAKES! Oh dear gourds how I love funnel cakes. And those giant ridiculous baskets of fries?

(So I just discovered that Knob Noster has a website. I linked to it above. Wow, high-tech.)

I'm looking forward to the visit, seeing everyone, and taking Guthrie on the caruousel and ferris wheel and all that junk food. I am not, however, looking forward to flying. First, I'm a teensy bit afraid of flying. Irrational, stupid, ridiculous, I know, but still ... we all have our irrational fears. (Someone I once knew practically panicked at the sight of grasshoppers. I think fear of flying is a little more rational.)

More than that, though, I'm not looking forward to flying, alone, with a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old. And even more, the 2-hour layover in Dallas on the way out.

Guthrie is really excited at the thought of flying -can't wait. Keeps asking all kinds of questions, and climbing on the futon and pretending like he's "driving" the airplane. Turner is absolutely clueless, of course, and has recently turned into super-high-needs clingy, "don't-you-even-think-of-putting-me-down," needs to nurse 37 times a day, won't eat real food and won't sleep more than 45-minutes at a stretch, velcro baby.

Which should make for fun traveling.

I have 6 days until we fly, but I am already trying to make lists and get a bag together. trying to fit as much as I can, for all 3 of us, into one big bag, and keep the carry-on as small as possible - diapers, granola bars, toys. I am going to be that mom, and I'm buying a carrying case for the portable DVD player. I'm actually thinking of it more for the layover in Dallas, when I'd like to not be running all over the world with the two little ones, and if I could get Guthrie to sit still and watch a movie during that time, great! I'll try to avoid it on the plane if at all possible.

So, any tips for traveling with 2 little ones? I haven't flown in 4 years - since before I got pregnant with Guthrie. My usual coping mechanism for flying - massive quantities of booze in the airport bar (which our local airport doesn't have anyway) won't work with little ones, so I'm thinking I'll pop a valerian before I leave for the airport, and that might help a bit. All the samples of baby products I got at the Baby Expo will come in handy now, too, for staying under the limits for liquids.

And any old friends who happen to be reading this and might want to get in touch during the prime social event of the year, the Knob Noster Fall Spring Whatever-The-Name-Is-Now Festival, e-mail me.

And wish me luck!

First Words?

I've been a little concerned since Turner, now 13 months, does not talk. AT ALL. For about a week's time, he would say "uh-oh," but that stopped rather quickly, and he didn't pick up any more words.

Today, though, Eric and I both heard him say what we thought might have been his first words. Oh, yes, he is definitely our son. What we both heard was, we believe,

"Damn. Damn. F#@*."

Would not be a surprise, since a few days ago Guthrie said, out of nowhere, but still at an appropriate time of frustration, "God. F#@*ing Dammit."

I'd like to be able to say he gets it all from his father, the one who is known by some for the language he uses in his writing, but no, I'd say he got it all from me. And when I hear from the back of the van Guthrie burst out with something that should not be coming out of the mouth of a 3 year old, I try not to laugh and encourage him while I also hide my head in shame that he got it all from me.

Go Has a Cheezburger

If you have not done so already, go here. I was LOL, really, so hard Eric wondered what was wrong.

I'd link to my favorites, but the one that had me laughing the hardest was not kid or work appropriate, so you have to find it yourself. The "invisible" tag has some of my favorites.

Oh, dear, why do I find it so funny?

Thank you, Karrie, for guiding me to this site which has sucked so much time from me. It's made me laugh a lot, though, so the time was worth it.

His kitties

A few days ago there was a shooting at a mall in Kansas City. I am from the area (an hour east, but still), and still read the Kansas City area news fairly regularly. As if the story of the shooting, especially after Virginia Tech, was not enough to make you wonder what is going on with the world, and how to feel safe, and what is going on in these people's heads, this story was on the web tonight.

Apparently, the shooter left a voice mail with his sister shortly before going on the shooting spree. He asked his sister to take care of his kitties, saying they were all he had to love, and that it was too late for him.

Now I know that we are supposed to hate these people, to paint them as entirely evil, inhuman creatures capable of the unthinkable, and to feel only for the victims. And don't get me wrong - I feel for the victims, for their families. But this story, this man's voice mail to his sister, has me heartbroken. Yes, I feel heartbroken for the man who shot innocent people.

Because, really, what is it that causes someone to do this? A person who has been loved, and who has lived a happy, fulfilled life, does not do this. A person who has nothing left in the world but his "kitties" does not go to a mall and shoot innocent people. And though their lives were cut short, maybe those victims felt at some point something this man never did - loved.

Maybe I'm reading too deep. Maybe I'm thinking too much. Maybe I'll be attacked by all sides. But I just can't help but think that just maybe, if we all stopped for awhile, slowed down a bit, held our babies, rocked our children, hugged our spouses, smiled at strangers, and the world loved a little more, then there might not be people who felt so unloved that they did these horrible, horrible things, and that those innocent victims might still be here.

He did a horrible, unthinkable thing. But at the same time, I hope his sister takes good care of his kitties.

Who put the Benadryl in the Avocado?*

Yes, he still has the spoon in his hand. Still would, actually, if I hadn't taken it from him.

The only problems? Do I move him or leave him? And since he fell asleep at 5 o'clock, is he going to wake up at 5 a.m.?

*The Benadryl in the Avocado is, of course, just a joke. There were no sleep-inducing substances added to anything.