The case of the missing poop...

The other night Rob, Pookie and I went to a car show after Rob got home from work.  It takes about 45 minutes to get there, but it's fun to drive out, get dinner, walk around and see all the old cars.  Plus they are an ice cream stand and they happen to have a gift shop.  What could be better?  Get a little dinner, see some old cars and do a little shopping before getting dessert and heading home.  We are definitely part of a car loving family.  The older the better.  I'm talking classic old cars and if they have a big engine and can go fast, all the better. 

We had an enjoyable dinner.  It was nothing fancy.  But the food is good, none the less.  After we got all cleaned up, we went to take a stroll.  First stop was an old tractor.  Pookie loves any piece of heavy machinery.  As we were admiring the tractors large wheels, Pookie got this look of concentration on his face.  Yep, he had to go #2.  I didn't feel like schlepping back to the truck to change his diaper, and the port-a-potties looked terrifying, so I went into the gift shop to see if they had a changing table in the bathroom.  Apparently they aren't equipped with a baby changing station, but the bathroom was fairly large and I figured I could work something out. 

I haven't mastered the art of changing Pookie's diaper as he is standing up.  However, I didn't want him laying on the bathroom floor, even with a changing mat under him.  Pookie is a very wiggly kid.  I get everything situated and take off Pookie's diaper.  There is a smear of poo, but the poo itself is missing.  I check his backside.  It's not there either.  The poo managed to dislodge itself and land on the floor.  I grab a baby wipe and scooped it up.  Followed by giving the floor a good scrub with another baby wipe.  Then I topped it off with a little hand sanitizer squirted on the floor and rubbed in with a paper towel.  I managed to get Pookie's clean diaper on.  It was a little haphazard, but it was attached.  I finished up business and exited the bathroom.  By this time the line had formed around the corner. 

The rest of the car show was entertaining.  Pookie kept trying to either touch or get into the cars.  Seeing as most of the cars are show pieces, little fingerprints are not appreciated.  There was a Dodge station wagon with a third row seat in the back.  I told Rob that this is the car that I need for my next vehicle.  It has all the room I could ever need, plus it has great visibility!  He just laughed. 

Grocery shopping

Grocery shopping is not my favorite thing.  Well, I don't mind going to the store and selecting my purchases.  It's the schlepping everything into the house and putting it away that sends me over the edge.  Think about it, by the time you're done, you have basically handled everything five times.  Six, if you bag everything yourself.
1. put it in the basket
2. put it from the basket onto the conveyor belt
3. bag and put back in the cart
4. put the bag in the car
5. bring the bag from the car into the house
6. unpack and put away
That is really way too many times to touch the same item. 

To add to the yuckiness that is grocery shopping, I am having a few issues with my current store.  I was looking for blueberries and every single package had mold in it.  Yuck!  The vegetables looked sad.  It was not good.  Then to top it off, I generally re-bag my groceries when I get to the car, because the bagger feels the need to put every single heavy thing in the same bag.  If you have problems picking it up, then it is too heavy. 

To attempt to fix this problem of yucky fresh food, I have decided to try a different grocery store.  This new grocery store, let's call it MB for future reference, leaves a lot to be desired.  It is know for having really cheep prices.  MB has opened up a new, larger, store and I thought it would be a good idea to at least try it out.  MB should really provide battle gear when you enter their store.  There are more little old ladies than at a bingo convention shopping in this place!  And they have a take no prisoners attitude!  It's impressive that Pookie and I made it out alive.  I think it helped that I had Pookie with me.  The little old ladies were distracted by Pookies cuteness and I was able to do a sneak attack to get some potatoes.  When we got home, I had to take a nap with Pookie, because the shopping trip was so tumultuous.  The final verdict?  They did have good produce, but the meat was horrible.  Some of the prices were cheaper, but not cheap enough to convince me to do battle with little old ladies over blueberries.  I think I need to check out the local farmers market for the fresh fruits and veggies.  There is also another grocery store further away that I need to try out.  Hopefully that one won't be inundated with the little old ladies.

Marco Polo?

Trying to take a shower is an interesting process.  My main problem is what to do with Pookie.  Pookie is at a funny age.  Too little to be left unattended, and to big (aka mobile) to be strapped into a stationary device to keep him contained.  My current fix is to stick him in his crib with a couple of books an a toy.  The toy can't be too big, because he might use it as a launching pad to escape from his crib. 

Pookie doesn't really have a problem hanging out in his crib while I'm in the shower.  However, there is a fairly short time span before he gets a little concerned about my well being.  Projected from his room comes the shout "MAMA!"  This will continue until I respond back "Pookie!"  I feel like we are playing an odd game of Marco Polo. 

Garden, part 3

We have been moving right along with our garden.  I wanted to get as much done before I had my tonsillectomy as possible.  I was able to find a good chunk of the plants that I was looking for.  There are still several spring and early summer plants that I need.  I also wanted to be able to add in plants as time goes along.  I know that some plants aren't going to make it.  In fact, we have had to replace one of the lavender plants already.  I don't think it was quite getting enough water.  The new one is doing much better. 


A couple of days ago, Pookie and I went to a gardening center near by to pick up lilacs and a peony shrub.  We had a rather entertaining time.  Between Pookie rolling away (luckily a plant stopped the cart!) when I went to look at a shrub and walking through mud in my flip-flops, we had a great time!  I soon realized that my small cart wouldn't accommodated two good sized shrubs, so I pulled Pookie out and explained to him that he needs to stay with Mama while we look at plants.  We grabbed a near by pallet on wheels and Pookie had a grand old time helping me push the cart around. 
Towards the end of our shopping expedition, I had picked up several lily-of-the-valley plants.  Pookie would go over and pick up the plant and carry it for a few feet and then put it back with the others.  Then he would pick it up again for a few more feet and repeat the process.  At one point, he dropped the plant and dirt spilled out.  Pookie's standing there saying uh oh!  I scoop everything back together and told him the plant was okay.  He then went back to his process of holding the plant and putting it back on the cart.  I think Pookie was in 7th heaven, between all of the puddles, the trucks and the equipment! 

I'm back!

Well, dear reader, I'm back!  My tonsils are gone and we have gone on vacation.  It's been a busy month! 

My surgery went really well.  However, the hospital misplaced my mother.  Well, she wasn't lost exactly, but they forgot about her.  I get out of surgery and after a period of time in the recovery section, I got wheeled up to a room.  I was fairly well out of it at this point.  I have a really hard time waking up from anesthesia.  The two ladies that were wheeling me up to my room said that they were going to grab my mom and bring her with us.  Apparently there was a change of plans and they said that they were going to send someone for her after we get to the room.  Two hours later, after asking a couple of different people to find my mom, she finally appears in my room.  Yep, they had forgotten about her.  She was rather peeved by that point, because she had been making an effort to check in at the desk in the waiting room every hour.  Apparently there was a shift change and the information got lost in the shuffle.  Or something like that. 

Anyway, they gave me really good drugs that made me ill.  Then they gave me different really good drugs and extra acid reducers and I felt a lot better.  Let me tell you, a tonsillectomy is an interesting thing to go through.  On one hand, going though unmedicated labor for 32 hours was more painful, but I think the 9+ days of what felt like nasty strep throat and a double ear infection might take the cake. 

My mom rocks, she came out for two weeks to take care of me and Pookie.  My mom (Grandma) and Pookie had a fabulous time together.  Pookie was her little buddy.  It was a lot of fun to watch the two of them together.  Considering that I slept for the first week and a half, they had a lot of bonding time together.  Pookie would come in to check on me from time to time.  Just to make sure I hadn't disappeared again.  He would come over, say "MAMA" and pat me, then run off.  By the end of the two weeks, I was feeling well enough to help put Pookie to bed.  I told him it was time to brush his teeth and he ran past me to Grandma.  Silly Mama, apparently Grandma is the "go to" lady! 

Pookie was VERY sad when Grandma left.  I think he moped for a week.  There was one day when he was just having one melt down after another and I asked him if he missed Grandma.  He nodded his head yes, so I gave Grandma a call and the two of them had a chat.  That is to say, Grandma talked and Pookie listened.  Although, Pookie did nod at appropriate times in their conversation.  I think he felt a lot better after getting to talk to her.  Grandma also went out and got one of the recordable books from Hallmark.  Pookie has been having so much fun with it!  On a funny side note, the book knows what page it is on due to light sensors.  Sometimes the book will start reading the wrong page.  Oops!