Daddy's Favorite Things All in One Picture

Haven, coffee, & bicycle(s)

Tools of the Trade

I decided to do a little trimming on Sophie this weekend. The dogs are well aware of the scissors--and are terrified of them. They both start shivering as soon as they see them. I usually wear rubber gloves when I trim just in case I have to cut around sensitive areas I'm not too keen on touching with my bare hands. Anyway, I got distracted before I actually got to work on Sophie and left the scissors and my gloves out in the dirt. Trudy really, really hates to be trimmed on. So while I was inside she proceeded to bury them. I guess she was hoping for out of sight out of mind.

It Bothers Me

The stupid names they give baby toys. Bumbo seat, Jumperoo, Boppy. Do the makers of these products think that moms will be more likely to buy them if they are dripping with cutesy sounding names? It does the opposite for me. I try to think of new names to call them. The Bumbo seat? It will now be known as the Yellow Pod That My Child Is More Interested In Chewing On Than Her Food. The Jumperoo? I'd call that the Way Too Bright, Way Too Light Seat that Allows Me to Eat Without Holding My Child On My Knee Thus Getting Food All Over Her and Myself. But I don't know if that name would fit on the Packaging.

The Boppy? I've got a few naming suggestons. I'm sure in Perfect Mother Land--the land where mother's have time to a). go find the Useless Overpriced Pillow--it's never in the last place you left it regardless of what your husband might tell you, and they are expensive so you can't afford to have one in every room, b). carefully position the Like I Needed Another Roll Around My Tummy--I Just Had A Baby around your waist (whose waist does this fit anyway?), c). gently lay your patiently waiting, hungry baby on the It's Not Hard Enough to Throw at My Husband When He's Telling Me to Hurry Up and Feed Our Hungry Baby and dispense with the feeding. I don't know about your baby, but my baby would be screaming her head off by now, and if she could speak would probably say, "Ma! Forget the d*mn oddly shaped pillow and give me some milk already!" Not that my baby would ever use four letter words. But if she did, at least I won't ever hear the word "Bumbo" come out of her mouth.

Don't Tell Daddy

It all started rather innocently. Gabe and Haven were playing on the mat on the floor. And, then before we knew it, Gabe reached over and pinched Haven's butt. She let it slide the first time. But, then he did it again. This time she was angry. You can't really blame the guy...she was only wearing a diaper.

I'm thinking she might have been playing hard-to-get though because before the night was over they were both naked in the hot tub (that's baby-speak for the bath).

Observations While on a Family Vacation

We've returned from our sojourn in Ramah, New Mexico. Four days of stuffing our faces and hiking while trying to find ancient pottery shards. Here are my findings:

• The McKeans pack for a weekend trip like no other family I know. We had food enough for a month. It was amazing. I don't think I let more than an hour pass by without putting something in my mouth. We were out in the middle of nowhere, after all. It was at least 5 miles to the nearest restaurant. We could have starved.



• I asked Chris if he'd taken any pictures during the trip and started scrolling through the camera. He'd taken the camera with him on a hike and artistically captured some trees au natural. "There's nothing on here but a bunch of pictures of stupid trees!" I said. Hmm, maybe should have been a bit more supportive of his artistic endeavors. I did have the wherewith all to wonder how he puts up with me.



• While playing hide and seek with Hannah, Carrie and I were assisting her in finding Jacob. She was a little reticent about going into the room alone because I think she suspected he may jump out from his hiding place and scare her. She informed us that we were to accompany her on her search and if Jacob scared her, she would scream like a little boy. A little boy. Someone taught that girl right.

• We went on a family hike to El Morro. The hike led us up to the top of a bluff where an ancient Indian civilization once stood. It's 800 plus rooms had been partially excavated giving us a glimpse into what life may have been like in 1200 AD. At the top of the bluff, all of us remarked on the amazing view. One of the park rangers happened to be up there at the same time to answer any questions we may have. One of us did have a question. Allen wanted to know all about the modern sewage treatment plant he could see in the valley. I'm willing to bet she'd never had anyone ask her that question while beholding a centuries old ruin. Sewage treatment is an important issue and not to be taken lightly.


• We all had a great time. It was fun to have that many females available to hold Haven at any given time. Who cares if Haven kept us up every night, right? Vacations are fun because they are so restful.

Book Plug

I just finished reading a book my mother-in-law recommended, Same Kind of Different as Me. If you haven't read it, you should. It was truly a great book. And a true story. Read it. It will give you a very different perspective on homelessness, on death, on life. I finished it in two days and didn't neglect Haven hardly at all...that's how un-put-downable it was. : )

The Wonderful World of Grandma's

Haven and I took a trip with my mom to Amarillo this past week. She had lot's of fun with my two grandma's and her two grandma's. Fortunately, she's too young to spoil yet because they were sure trying.