Part 1 -

Holly has been telling me to read "Eat, Pray, Love" for a very long time.  So I finally gave in and I bought the ebook (for my awesome Nook!)  It's written in three sections, as would be assumed by the title.  I have a history of shuning anything that is hyped, over recommended or forced on me.  It's totally ridiculous I know.  But I can't help it.  The more someone tries to recommend something to me, the more I am turned off by it.  Especially if the recommendation is unsolicited.  As an example - "The DaVinci Code."  Way too much media and Hollywood hype.  My dad gave me the book to read, I think after the movie was out (which I also refused to see).  So I started the book. I thought it was well written and researched.  I actually found myself enjoying the story - somewhat.  I was enjoying it.  But I just couldn't handle all of the media hype about the movie.  I didn't finish the book - and I only had 50 pages left!  I tossed it in the recycling bin because I just couldn't stand it anymore.  I think if I would have read it before the movie came out, I would have really enjoyed the story. 

So, "Eat, Pray, Love" - I was almost finished with the first section when I made the mistake of looking up "Eat, Pray, Love" in Facebook.  I was curious to see what the author looks like. 

Let me back up a bit.  "Eat, Pray, Love" is about this woman who goes to Italy, India, and Bali to find herself and inner peace and harmony.  So.  It's a memoir. 

Part 2 -

As I'm reading it, I'm trying to imagine what she looks like, her expressions, her hand gestures, etc.  What does her voice sound like, her laugh, what kind of clothes does she wear?  Is she a heels or a flats woman?  Is she a lipgloss or a lipstick woman?  Is she the kind of woman that carries all of her wordly possessions in a bag that would put Mary Poppins to shame or is she a handbag minimalist?  Is she the kind of woman that has an obscene number of pillows on her bed - that you are not allowed to sleep on? Does she alphabatize the pantry?  Does she even cook?  Is she a beer or wine girl?  Is she a red wine or a white wine gir?  Meat or vegetarian?  Cake or pie?

See - that's how my mind works.  And all of those ridiculous questions that flow through my mind as I read the simple black and white print (serif or sans serif because I can select my font on the Nook!) makes reading fun for me.  I like that the "experience" of reading the book can be completely individualistic because my answers to those questions are probably different than your answers. 

It is this silly little game that I play in my mind that helps me develop and understand the character.  I do it with fiction and non-fiction.  (Most of what I read is fiction.)  A lot of my questions may actually get answered- from the description of the outfit she wore on a first date with someone to a description of a house or an apartment.  I tend to wonder about te simple and superficial because my biggest problem as a reader is that I cannot read between the lines.  When I read something, all I read and comprehend is the actual black and white text.  If it doesn't actually say, "the moral of the story is" I may not understand it.  This is why I would suck at book clubs - I just read what is written out for me.  I love to read but the reading between the lines is too hard.  Which is strange because I think I am fairly good at reading between the lines with people.  

Part 3 - 

Back to me Facebooking "Eat, Pray, Love."  I wanted to see what the author looks like.  The result of the search totally ruined the entire reading experience for me.  Hollywood has decided to take this little book that I am enjoying - and they are going to ruin it by turning it into a movie.  A movie that stars Julia Roberts.  BLECH.

Now I find myself having a hard time finishing the book.  All of the enjoyment is gone.  Because now I no longer have all of the fun questions in my head.  All i see is the Julia Roberts big teethy gummy grin.  All I hear is her big boisterous snorty laugh.  And all of the pretty crisp black and white words are now words to the new Julia Roberts movie. It is no longer Liz's memoir.  Is it a Julia Roberts movie.  Instead of letting my mind creatively wander, all I can visualize is how Hollywood is going to depict the scene.  What scenes are they going to edit from the book.  What scenes are they going to creatively embelish.  What actor is going to play Dave?  What actor is going to play Richard, the Texan?  Who is going to play the old Balinese Medicine Man?  Now instead of trying to visualize these people - all I can see is who is going to play these people.  (I am going to imdb.com to find the answers to these questions right now!)

See how it is totally kindeve BIG, FAT, RUINED. The experience of reading this book is gone.  What makes reading enjoyable for me has been removed from this book.  I don't even know if I can finish it.  Well - I will.  I will finish it because I have already read 2/3rds of it - but it's a struggle.

Prologue - 

Lesson of the day:  Don't Facebook if you can't handle the truth! 

 

 I think bottles and binkys are one of those things - some parents think they know best.  Both of my kids loved their bottles.  They especially loved a nice cool bottle of milk to help lull them into sleepy wonderland.  I didn't push the issue because they don't suck their thumb and they didn't use a binky.  If my kids wanted a bottle of milk fo comfort, who was I to refuse them.  It's MILK!  I know, I know.  Some of you are screaming about their teeth.  But somehow that always seemed to be the least of my worries.

I don't remember the age that Stewart voluntarily quit the bottle - but he did.  I think he was right around 2.  He loved his milk.  I have memories of finding nasty curdled bottles of milk that had fallen under or behind his bed.  Gross.  There is no easy and non-disgusting way to get that big curdled chunk out of a bottle.

Parker wasn't quite ready yet.  Keep in mind, he will be 2 in about an hour and a half(it's March 30, straight up midnight).  Our challenge with Parker was that he wanted his bottle all day.  He had no problems with sippy cups and even regular cups.  He wanted the comfort of his bottle all day. To be completely honest, it became a big pain in the ass.  He would go through 5-6 gallons of milk a week.  Which was the other problem.  He didn't ever want to eat.  He wanted his bottle over food.  His pediatrician, whom I trust, said some kids chose to get their calories from milk.  He said we shouldn't worry about it if he is growing and developing.  So i let it slide for a while.  

Did I mention that it was a pain in the ass?  It was.  He wanted milk SEVERAL times during the night.  Sometimes having 4 bottles of milk in the night - which always involved a diaper change or he would wake up with soaked pajamas which meant that I had to not only change his diaper but would also need to wash his jammies, the sheets, the mattress pad, his blankets, etc.  

Which I did.  I did this.  I didn't want to deprive him of milk because he refused to eat.  I mean, the doctor said, "some kids like to get their calories from milk and it's ok . . . "  This is how it went, he would go to bed at 8:30 with a bottle.  During the 11 o'clock hour he would wake up cying and want another.  Same thing between 2-3.  Same thing during the 6 o'clock hour.  As you can see, mom and dad weren't getting much sleep.

This was all about to change.

One night he started crying.  I rolled my tired carcass out of the bed in the middle of a very very very very cold night.  Same routine, Parker cry = give me milk!  So I go in there and he's fussing around his bed.  While I am re-tucking him in, he's saying, "baba pwease."  (First let me say, I probably should have cut him off when he was able to say baba.  Some books say not to do bottles after the first year.) I lay him on his pillow and try to dig out his blankets that he is all tangled up in when I discover that he is laying on top of a full bottle.  He was too lazy to roll over in his bed to get a drink from a bottle that he was laying on that was making him uncomfortable.  Instead of rolling over, he chose to cry out, knowing that I would zombie stumble my way into his room to cater to his late night/early morning needs.  That irritated me but I tucked him in and kissed him.  He did the exact same thing 2-3 more times when I finally said, "NO MORE!"

So 2 weeks ago, I woke up on a Monday morning and put all of his bottles up.  If he was thirsty, he could drink from a regular cup or a sippy cup.  NO MORE BOTTLES.  I told Bill it was going to be a few rough nights but it would pay off if we could get through the first week.  We even put Stewart up in the guest bed room.  Naptime and the first night were a bit rough for him.  He cried and screamed and demanded, "BABA!  BABA PWEEEEAAASE!"  The second night was a little easier and the third night was even easier, and so on.  Dare I say it, I don't want to jinx it.  Our little fuss bucket is sleeping through the night.  Occasionally, he will wake up during the 4 o'clock hour and cry and I'll give him a sip of milk from his sippy cup and he will go right back to sleep.

AND - even better!  He's eating now!  HE EATS!  For the longest time, Parker was the incredible not eating kid but now he eats.  He is still picky about what he eats but he will eat.  And a little boy with a full tummy is a little boy that takes a good nap and sleeps well at night.

TA!  DA!

 

 

I never really thought about it before - but why did McDonald's name their kid's meal a "Happy Meal."  Why not something that makes sense like a "kiddie meal?"

We aren't a fast food family.  I can say that without any guilt - we honestly don't eat a lot of fast food.  I think Bill and I are of the opinion that anything we could get at McDonalds, Taco Bell, Panda Express, etc can be made by me and it will be much tastier!  :)  So of the five or so times that Parker has had a Happy Meal, he has started associating the golden arches with a happy meal.  Everytime we drive by a McDonalds, or if he sees the arches as we drive past on the highway, he screams out - in pure joy and cuteness, "HAPME MEAL!"  He doesn't quite say HAPPY - but you know exactly what he is saying.  

It is so freakin cute.  He is at that age where he has that adorable precious, so cute I could eat you little baby voice.  When he says, "HAPME MEAL!"  he's just saying it.  He's not asking for one, he just wants to say it.

So, I no longer wonder why it is called a "Happy Meal."  Just hearing him say it makes me happy.

Here are the pics!  (This is the exact reason why film cameras are practically obselete.  It took me 9 months to get these pictures developed - and I didn't even take the full roll of film in the little disposable camera.  The only good thing about disposable cameras is that they come in a thick waterproof plastic case.

 

Apparently I am really handy.  This shouldn't come as a surprise to me.  I remember helping my dad with stuff when I was younger - stuff like hanging drywall, installing electrical outlets.  He was a real Bob Villa - do-it-yourself kinda guy.  I watched him do all kinds of things.  Reshingle the house, replace the cam in my car, install skylights, adding a room to the house, gardening, laying a tile floor, tearing up carpet and linoleum.  I think it gives me an unrealistic sense that I think I can do anything.  So, since I'm all graduated (or at least finished) I don't have homework, so I have time and the mental capacity to think about doing other things.  In two weeks I have:

• resealed the kitchen counter and that little desk thing in the kitchen
• resealed the bathtub in the master bath
• and the shower :)
• and the toilet  - gross
• and the sink and toilet in the basement
• I took down the crown molding in our bedroom
• we hung a medicine cabinet in the master bathroom
• i changed the shower head (for a 3rd time.  I think this one is a keeper)

• and I painted the hallway - the hall that parker scribbled up with his crayons

We need to repaint the whole bedroom and put up new crown molding before the new furniture arrives.  It's so exciting.