Solved

Alright, the mysterious diaper disappearance is no longer a quandary. A friend of mine (a mommy, of course) brought up a point that I had not considered. Had Phoebe worn a diaper to bed at all?

"Of course," I thought. "I wouldn't forget?...Would I?"

Ah-Ha! Suddenly I remembered that I had taken Pilate's that night, leaving Xee in charge of getting Phoebe ready for bed. He got her into her jammies early and was going to wait until bedtime to put the diaper on...

Then I got home. Xee forgot about the diaper. So off to bed she went...and you know the rest. I did a load of soiled sheets the next morning, but at least we aren't waiting around for a smelly diaper to turn up. Well, another parenting first. Another good laugh. Mystery solved.

Unsolved Mystery

This morning, our "alarm clock" waltzed through our bedroom door and jumped into bed with us for some snuggling time. We reluctantly, and a bit grumpily, started our day. I was still lounging in bed when Xee asked me if I had taken Phoebe's night time diaper off. My answer was, "No."

"Well, she isn't wearing it."

I assured him that sometimes she takes it off first thing in the morning. "It's probably on the floor in her room," I said, as I rolled over and put my face back into my pillow.

Minutes later, Xee informed me that he looked and hadn't found it. (Okay, the Mommy will get up and find it.) I go into her room, expecting to find the diaper staring me in the face. (No offense to Daddy, but this would not be the first time he couldn't find something in the house without my supernatural mommy radar.)

Hmmmm. The diaper is nowhere to be found. The sheets are soiled. Phoebe has a vague recollection of taking it off sometime "last week" (that helps). I ask her a series of questions to dig information out of her, but to no avail. I search under and over and in every corner of her room...but the diaper is still at large.

TO BE CONTINUED...

In the mean time, I might as well share a couple pics of the adorable little Miss. The birthday photos will be posted as soon as I get the TIME!

Here she is on an emergency pit stop. I keep a little potty in the car, just in case...You never know when you might need it. It just happens to be a singing potty, so once in a while I go over a bump and hear, "Wheeee. Now let's flush the potty!" or "Hooray! You went potty. Way to go!"



The Naked Chef! Phoebe loves to pretend play, ALL DAY. She just loves her toy closet. I recently converted our storage closet into a special play house...or castle...or whatever she wants it to be. Oh, what fun!!!

Spring Cleaning & Stuff!

We have a lot of stuff, don't we? No, not we, as in me, my husband, and our child. We-as in, you and me, our nation, our culture, society. Stuff is essential, is it not? I mean, we have to eat stuff, right? And we need stuff to wear, stuff to sit on, stuff to sleep on. New stuff, vintage stuff, hygienic stuff, transportation stuff, kid stuff, grown-up stuff, work stuff, play stuff, entertaining fluff-stuff!

I have been doing a lot of spring cleaning in the last couple of months, which has been long over due. It started out as organization, but the more stuff I found behind stuff, the more I realized we needed to donate some stuff. And nothing is wrong with stuff. I have just been thinkin'...about STUFF!

We aren't born with a lot of stuff. We acquire it. I look in my daughter's closet and it is filled with clothes (much more than I have, I might add), and boxes of stuff that fit easily below, since her clothes are so small. There is little storage here, so her closet has been raided by stuff that won't fit anywhere else.

And so we have lots of stuff. We grow up with some stuff, then we get a place of our own and fill it with our stuff. We buy stuff, and then we get bored with that stuff, so we buy new stuff with that plastic stuff in our wallets, and we give stuff away to people who need some stuff. Our kids are given stuff (which we are terribly grateful for) and they grow out of that stuff. So we get more stuff...and give away the old stuff. There is stuff in our cupboards, stuff in drawers, stuff flowing out of stuff. Then we need to buy some stuff, in which to store our stuff. And stuff to label our stuff (so we won't forget about our stuff!).

How about all the technological stuff? Stuff to watch, stuff to read, stuff to download, upload, transfer, file, forward. And stuff is changing...more quickly than ever. So there is the latest and greatest stuff. Breakthrough stuff. Never seen anything like it stuff. AND just gotta have it stuff. I guess we are kind of drawn to stuff.

I would be lying if I said I didn't like my stuff, or that I didn't enjoy shopping for new stuff (hence, the nickname, "Queen of Returns" has rightfully been bestowed upon me). So how close is the line between stuff and fluff? I mean, isn't it mostly the latter? Aren't there people living contently with a lot less than I? Well, there you have it. I've just been thinkin' about some stuff.

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 1 Timothy 6:6-7

To Your Health

Some of been wondering when I might post the next To Your Health. I have had many in the works in this head of mine, but have yet to get down to it. So I am taking the easy route (just this once) and referring you all to my friends over at Ebenezer Forest Farm, and their post, Pork Anyone. Now, I love bacon as much as anyone, but I have had my share of food poisoning and even... dare I say it, I've had a parasite! (It is more common than you think...you have probably had them too.)

Xee and I have given up pork a number of times, only to give in for the annual Christmas ham, or for parties here in Hawaii where Kalua Pig is a staple. Recently we are back on the "no pork" wagon. So click on the title above and read for yourself the alarming statistics on pork related illnesses. Just a little food for thought. Here's to your health!

Rain Check Please

Okay, I would like to make an amendment to my earlier post on Mother's Day...thank your mother for birthday parties. The invitations, the planning, the food, the cupcakes, the games, the scrambling last minute preparations. Since this year, Mother's Day fell the day after my three-year-old birthday pool party (which wasn't a pool party after all for the first two hours, due to an "accident" in the pool...yes, that's right...someone pooped on our pool party. So glad I planned crafts as well. Phew!), I have decided that Sunday was NOT Mother's Day!

I am taking a rain check on Mother's Day! We are heading to Maui at the end of the month, where I plan to designate one day to be my official day. I don't know what I will do or how we celebrate, but it will not include cooking, cleaning, or scrambling! Hopefully, it will involve a little tranquility. A little. I do, after all, have a three-year-old!!! By the way, the party was a blast. Pictures are soon to follow.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Remember those old Calgon commercials? You know the ones...the lady gets in the tub and suddenly, Calgon "takes her away". I was taking a very well deserved, hot bath last night and randomly (or not so randomly) thought of them. Seriously, unless this magic potion can actually teleport me out of the madness, I will have to find solace in the plain-old hot bath, the good book (if I can even keep my eyes open), and the cozy bed.

With Mother's Day right around the corner, I laid in the hot bath, lights out, and I thought of my own mom. Every night my mom took a bath, and it was her time. All day long she would cook for us all, clean for us all, cart us around to school and elsewhere. This was her time. And yet, on many occassions, one of us would have something important, something that just couldn't wait...something that warranted a knock on the bathroom door to ask or tell her that thing. She rarely complained...just said with a sigh, "Come in." Even her alone time was not fully her own.

When we become mommies, we realize the sacrifice our own mommies made throughout the years and we appreciate them on a completely different level. And we love them that much more. Every day should be Mother's Day. One day is hardly the recognition mommies deserve, but we'll take it!

So call your mom, not just on Mother's Day, but any day, and say "Thank you."

Thank you for licking your finger and wiping the goo off my face. Thank you for carrying me in your body, for feeding me from your breast. Thank you for reading to me, for singing to me, for kissing my boo-boos all better, for teaching me right from wrong. Thank you for not totally losing it when I....Thank you for hurting when I hurt, for cheering me on, for celebrating my victories and helping me up in defeat. Thank you for cuddling me, for hugs and kisses, for life wishes. Thank you for cherishing me, guiding me, for loving me. Thank you mom.

To my own mom, Margaret, thank you for your unconditional love and support. To my dear sister, Heather, thank you for being Mom's helper and for being there if Mom wasn't able. And to my girlfriend mommies, thank you for laughing with me about it all, and for supporting me in the thick of it. Happy Mother's Day!!