My Medicine Man

One of the many reasons I’m glad I married Kevin is because he knows a lot about medicine and what types of medicines do what types of things to your body. This is probably because his mom is an RN and he paid attention to what she said growing up.

I’m pretty much clueless when it comes to medicine. I have no idea what the difference is between aspirin, Tylenol, and ibuprofen. The differences have been explained to me before but I always forget what they are.

Here is a fairly typical conversation we had over the weekend.

A: I have a sore throat.
K: I’ll get you medicine. What do you need?
A: Benadryl.
K: What? Why do you need that?
A: Because I want to sleep tonight.
K: Are you going to have trouble sleeping tonight?
A: No. I probably don’t need Benadryl then, huh?
K: No. Do you feel like you have drainage?
A: Yes.
K: I think you need Chlor-Trimeton. [Goes to cupboard to look for it.]
A: Kevin, you’re my medicine man.
K: Do we have any Chlor-Trimeton?
A: Uh. I think we ran out a while ago.
K: Why didn’t we buy more?
A: ‘Cuz I forgot.
K: [Pauses for a second.] You know, I think I have some in my car.
A: WHAT?? You have some in your car?! Who the heck carries Chlor-Trimeton in their car but you?
K: [Goes to car and comes back with CT, hands it to Amy.]
A: You’re probably the only person in the world who carries spare Chlor-Trimeton in their car. I think you’re wonderful.
K: You think I’m a nerd.
A: Yes, but you’re a wonderful nerd.

Rejected

Here is yet another post on one of my favorite topics, my child.

Lately Meredith has been expressing her dislikes by pushing things away from her when she doesn’t want them. This was cute until she started pushing ME away.

Do you know how demoralizing it is to have your child push you away? She contorts her face and then puts her hands on both my shoulders and pushes with all her little might.

If she could talk she would probably say, “Get out of my way mom. You’re cramping my style.”

It’s like total rejection.

The person whose life depends on you thinks you’re unnecessary.

This is a part of parenting I wasn't expecting.

Can someone remind me … when exactly are those "rebellious years" supposed to start? I thought I had at least two years, if not 13.

Don’t ask me how I did this. But I did.

Now all I need to do is buy her a pair of flip-flops and she’ll be stylin’.

Thus ends my addiction ...

Well, I feel compelled to follow-up on my post awhile ago about Grey’s Anatomy.

It seems that each episode gets a little sluttier. It’s like who’s going to sleep with who next? There’s not many people left to sleep with.

There’s an age-old debate in Christian circles about what is appropriate to watch on TV and what is not.

The line is sometimes fine. On one side of the line, there’s something redeeming in a movie or TV show, despite the filth, that enables me to continue watching it. On the other side of the line, it’s just dirty and anything positive about it is scarce.

I guess everyone has to determine where the “line” is for themselves, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

But in this scenario, when you determine something has crossed the line, you leave a story unfinished. Sigh …

Maybe that's why I should never start watching TV shows.

Hello and Goodbye

Meredith is waving now. There was a little boy, probably a year old, at the store last night. When their eyes met, both he and Meredith burst into smiles and giggles. It was TOTAL chemistry. Very cute. Then Meredith started waving at him and he waved back. We both left the store at the same time and they were waving at each other from across the parking lot. The little boy was saying “bye-bye” and Meredith was smiling back at him with her little hand raised.

Either our daughter is an extravert or a little flirt. Definitely an extravert. Probably both.

Unlikely Road Trip Reading

On our road trip this past weekend I decided to bring along reading material that I wouldn’t ordinarily pick as my first choice. I grabbed a stack of Kevin’s Invention and Technology magazines to browse in the car.

You know, invention and technology can be a very interesting subject.

I learned all about the history and evolution of the modern toaster. I also read an article on how Pop Tarts were invented. I never realized that it took a whole new type of technology to go from dry-goods to the Pop Tart.

It was a good thing for me to stretch myself this way. Maybe I’ll continue reading more of these magazines in the future. You never know what kinds of remarkable things you can learn.

Poem, Compliments, Wigs, etc.

Monday was my birthday. My mom didn’t have time to take my little sister Melissa (age 9) shopping so, instead, my sister wrote a poem to give me as a gift.

I thought it was a “serious” poem, so when I opened it and started reading it, I tried very hard to keep a straight face. Later on I learned that Melissa intended it to be funny. That’s good ‘cuz we all got a nice chuckle.

“FERN”

Fern is lovely,
Fern is funny,
Fern is nice,
Fern has lice.

Then, I opened a gift from my mom. It was a shirt. David (age 11) saw the size on the tag and exclaimed: “You’re a medium?! I didn’t know that. I would have thought you were thinner than that.”

I quickly hugged him and told him that was the nicest thing he could have said to me on my birthday.

Oh, and here is a family photo from the weekend:



Here is baby, drooling and hairy:



Here is the whole gang:

Meredith Tries a New Cuisine

Here is Meredith this morning, trying to eat the camera.


Here is Meredith, thinking about eating a dirt clod instead.


I don’t think she liked the dirt clod.


Here is Meredith shoving the dirt clod to my face: “Mom, I can’t believe you let me eat that nasty thing! What are moms for but to protect their innocent children?!”


Here is Meredith, reexamining the dirt clod. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.

Chinatown Fun

Dinner in the City

Last night, we had dinner in S.F. Kevin had a business meeting there earlier in the day and he told his boss he would go only if he could take me. After all, it was Valentines Day.

What a guy, eh?

We went to a little bistro near Union Square. The food was great. Later on the waiter told us it was their opening night. No wonder we got in without reservations!

We also walked around the City for a while. It amazed me how many people treat Valentines Day just like any other day. Throughout the evening, there were people walking by themselves, and in groups, looking like they were doing the ordinary things they always do.

If ever you want to see really “wild” people, S.F. is a great place to go!

There was one guy who stood on a street corner with a t.v. strapped around his waist and a big sign that said, “They put [bleep] in meat!”

And that’s how he chose to spend his Valentines Day. Standing on a cold street corner in S.F., declaring to the world the evils of meat; waging his own personal crusade.

After I get some work done here at the hotel, I get to paint the town with Meredith for a while before we have to head home. Yahoo!

Enough

Okay, the fact that this is STILL a news story is amazing to me. I've had enough. The media is upset that they weren't contacted immediately about this and they aren't letting it go. And now Democrats are using this as an opportunity to jump on the administration.

What happened wasn't exactly a matter of national importance. I don't think the media was entitled to know right away. Their ego was hurt and now they're decrying the administrations as "secretive."

The media should get off its high horse and find something significant to report.

Accidents happen. Cheney wasn't doing anything illegal and he didn't do anything intentionally wrong. If he was a little careless, the facts will come out in due time. But we all (except for Tuckster) are careless at times. Cheney didn't do anything "evil." And I'm tired of the media and the democrats crucifying the poor guy.

Sheesh. Get a life people!

Neighborhood Excitement

On the way home from church yesterday we noticed a group of people walking down the main parkway near where we live. We looked down a side street and saw a huge line of cars and emergency lights.

We turned on the television when we got home and learned that a small plane had been performing aerobatics and crashed into a home just down the street from us!

Fortunately the occupants of the home were out of town. The entire neighborhood is in shock over this incident. Apparently many neighbors saw the plane doing stunts before it crashed.

Belly Laughter

There were 18 adults and four babies at bible study last night. What started out as a couples’ study has evolved into couples-plus-babies’ study. It works out okay except for the occasional interruption when a baby is either fussy or does cute things, like last night, and distracts everyone.

Last night I had Meredith on my lap. Across the room was Ty Edmondson, 9-months old. Ty suddenly took a toy and, as many babies do, began furiously shaking it up and down. When Meredith caught sight of this she let out a huge belly laugh. Ty paused and then resumed his shaking action. This resulted in even louder belly laughs from Meredith. She was practically hysterical at this point.

The discussion came to an abrupt halt and for the next five minutes we watched Meredith repeatedly laugh every time Ty shook his toy. When Ty paused, Meredith stopped laughing. When he started shaking it again, she would laugh even harder than the time before. Everyone in the entire room was laughing along with her. My cheeks hurt from laughing so hard. It was so funny to see the two babies interacting like that and to watch Meredith be so humored.

Silly little girl. How I love her.

The Unknown

Last night we met with a realtor to discuss putting our house on the market. We’re a little bit shell-shocked at how much of our equity is going to be eaten-up by realtor fees.

Plus, there are all the emotions of having to give up our first home. It’s small but it’s nice. We love our home and we love our community. We have a lot of memories tied up in our house. We put a lot of work into making it “ours.” We brought our first child home to it. We planted an orange tree in its backyard and ate the first-fruits. Our home has been the social-center for OBCL gatherings. :-) There are too many memories to name.

Part of me wonders “What are we doing?” We are leaving a nice home to go to an unknown housing arrangement. We are leaving a decent job to go to … what?

We are leaving something concrete for something vague.

And it’s not like we’re two carefree lovebirds anymore. We are two lovebirds with a child to support.

I am the type of person who can appreciate deferred gratification, where you put up with something hard because you know it will pay off in the end.

I’m also the type of person who is willing to give up a degree of security for a degree of adventure.

But it’s easy to be excited about a future prospect until the sacrifices become real. Then it becomes a much harder pill to swallow.

And that’s exactly where I’m at.

We know the destination is good but the journey will be trying, difficult, and scary.

I tried but, alas, I couldn't.

For quite a few years now I've prided myself on the fact that I've been able to resist TV show addictions. Maybe it's because I never started watching them to begin with and so it was easy.

Then my friend Meredith Turney came to visit and told me I should watch a show called Grey's Anatomy because the lead character is a girl named Meredith. And so, to be a nice friend, I agreed to watch one episode.

Of course, there was a cliff-hanger at the end. And this made me want to tune-in again last Sunday night. And of course, there was a cliff-hanger at the end of THAT episode. So, now I want to tune-in next week.

Argh! It's such a vicious cycle and I cannot believe I have succumbed.

Learning not to be a perfectionist hostess …

Have you ever been to someone’s house where the woman, usually an older woman, is able to put the finishing touches on great meal, have a significant conversation, keep the kids in check, and look beautiful all at the same time?

Well, I’m still working on that.

Friday night we had company for dinner. I had hoped to have the home peacefully awaiting them and dinner all prepared. You know, maybe a few candles lit for aroma and ambiance. Maybe strains of Mozart playing in the background.

Instead, when they walked in, I was on the phone, dinner was literally starting to burn, Meredith was screaming hysterics in the background (I finally just put her in her crib to cry because she was overtired, wouldn’t settle down, and I had things to do), and I looked a mess with my hair flying in all directions and sweat dripping down my back.

Ugh. Everything turned out okay in the end but there were definitely a few frantic moments there in the beginning.

I’m learning that it’s okay if things aren’t perfect every time I entertain. The important thing is to take a deep breath, roll with the punches, and enjoy hospitality … come what may!

New Life

There were about twelve of us crowded into the tiny hospital room last night to meet baby Anthony Rodriguez. On the way out, I noticed a sign that said “Only Two Guests Per Patient.” So much for that!

Anthony looks just like his dad, a miniature Walt. We are especially glad that he is here safely because his mom had been put on bed rest four months ago. It’s amazing that he stayed in the womb for so long. He’s healthy and beautiful.

Last night was a very joyous occasion for all of us.

A Hopeful Nation

Whoever wrote the close to the State of the Union speech did a terrific job, I thought:

"Lincoln could have accepted peace at the cost of disunity and continued slavery. Martin Luther King could have stopped at Birmingham or at Selma, and achieved only half a victory over segregation. The United States could have accepted the permanent division of Europe, and been complicit in the oppression of others.

"Today, having come far in our own historical journey, we must decide: Will we turn back, or finish well?

"Before history is written down in books, it is written in courage. Like Americans before us, we will show that courage and we will finish well."