Dutch's Happiness

I love being able to read my friend's and family's blogs.  For instance, my friend Ashley and I haven't seen each other in years and I've never met her 1 1/2 year old daughter Ava, but through their blog I get to keep in touch and feel like I know Ava.  Ashley just posted a blog on how her daughter shows true happiness and listed some examples.  Here is how Dutch shows true happiness, and in turn teaches me to be happier.

• He has the most infectious laugh of anyone I've ever seen.  Last night we were at my in-laws discussing some sort of serious, life-altering things and Dutch just started laughing.  So Chris tickled him to make him laugh harder and soon we were all just laughing at Dutch's laughter.  It is truly one of the most beautiful sounds in this world.  My mom-in-law has suggested multiple times that we make it a ringtone for our cell phones.
• The other day it was hailing and raining and snowing, all in a given period of a few hours.  I was annoyed that spring had yet to spring, but Dutch went to our sliding glass door, plastered his nose and hands against it and gasped.  "Oh!"  Then he would look for a little longer before saying, "Oh!" again.  It changed my perspective on the weather.
• As I've said in several different blogs, Dutch is imitating everyone around him.  I didn't see this so clearly until I saw him playing with his orange guy.  For every drink of his sippy cup he took he gave one to his guy.  Then he patted him on the cheek and gave him a hug.  It made me happy that I've been a good example when I share my food and drinks, whatever they are, with him.
• When Dutch was first born I relished the fact that he made me see the world in a new way.  Over time I've sort of forgotten that.  Then today we were at Wal-Mart picking up a few things and the Express Lane that we were in was anything but express, I was annoyed.  Dutch (who decided to wear his bright orange sun-hat, but that's another story) turned to the man behind us and said "Hiya!" and waved his little monkey fingers at him.  This started a conversation between me and the man and I learned that he was having a very hard time in his life.  His wife was sick so he was buying her an Easter lily.  I paid for my things and went to the car, but it helped me remember that no matter what I have to complain about, it isn't enough.  I am blessed so much more than I am "punished" by life.

So thanks to Ashley for inspiring me to write this blog, and thanks to Dutch for doing these and so many other things that make his world, and mind, a happier place.

The Laptop Incident, or, If I Didn't Kill Him For This, I Never Will

The other day I went in to take a shower, leaving Dutch in the front room. I was pretty certain I'd done a good job of ridding the room from anything Dutch could destroy.  Oh how wrong I was.  Ten minutes I was gone.  TEN MINUTES!  And I came out to find this:

For those of you wondering what exactly you're looking at: this is my laptop.  The white spaces are where Dutch pulled the keys off.  Yes, that's right.  He took his little monkey fingers and pried off over two dozen of my keys.  And here they are in a rubbermaid container:

It's sort of funny now.  Sort of.  At the time the only thing I could think to do was put Dutch safely in his crib, shut his door and move to the other side of the apartment so I didn't inflict any bodily harm.  The question I keep coming back to is: Why?  Why did he do this?  But, even more importantly, how can a kid who can barely hold a fork have the dexterity to snap off keys from a very flat keyboard?

Some things we may never know.

Happy Birthday Loser!

Today my sister Heather Lou (also known as Heifer Moo) is turning 31.  What an old lady!

I love you, I miss you, and I wish you were here.  I don't have a picture of the two of us because Dutch did something to my laptop (but more on that tomorrow).  I wish you were here so we could go to D.I. and buy $2 outfits for your birthday.  Come home soon.

A Seat For His Bum

Dutch is a lot like his Mama in the fact that he loves little nooks and crannies and things that are just his size.  Lately he's been getting inside of all the furniture we're putting together and making them his forts (see above).  And in the top picture you can see that he's sitting on my little file box and reading a book.  Finally, after realizing he just wanted a place of his own, I bought him a little chair that's (almost) just his size.  He pretty much loves it.

Boys With Toys

Okay, so these aren't the best pictures ever taken, but they do show you what Dutch has been doing the last few days: copying Daddy's every move.  He has been "helping" Chris put together our furniture.  His play tools have definitely come in handy with all this "helping."  I think it's the first time he realized what his yellow hammer is for!

P.S. Notice Dutch's orange stuffed animal.  That's his "guy" (he has no name).  He prefers to take him everywhere.  It's the only thing he's shown any attachment to, which is funny because I bought it so spur of the moment and it was only $5.  Incidentally, if you think of a good name for him, let me know (it is a "he").

A Soapbox Rant

Please note: If comments get too heated or political I will delete them.

Lately I've been listening to a lot of my friends complaining about the healthcare reform.  Now, I'm not going to get into what I think about it, and I hope you won't either.  The thing that's upsetting me about it is the language they're using.  People saying things like, "I don't work hard to pay for someone else's healthcare" or "People are just too lazy to help themselves" or "Why should I take care of them when they won't take care of themselves?"

Not to be overly dramatic, but these are sort of heartbreaking responses to anything.  Everyone needs help sometime (and I'm not just talking about healthcare).  Chris and I, despite our best efforts to be self-sufficient, despite our best-laid plans, have had to ask for money at times.  We are not irresponsible people frittering our money away on booze and cigarettes.  We're just a struggling family who needs help getting from point A to point B.

There are people all over the world who work hard and have very little to show for it.  There are folks who will never be able to have more than what they have now.  They were born into a poor family and they'll die in a poor family.  No matter what they do through their lives they'll end up just as poor as when they started.

I've been thinking a lot about service and charity and all those kinds of things.  I've decided it's not my place to judge whether or not the bum I give $5 to is going to buy food or drugs.  The fact that I had the best intentions is enough for me.  Maybe that's too rose-colored for some of you, but it's how I feel.  I can't judge what that person needs, but I can help the best I can to see they get it.

Let's try, just for one week, to put aside our selfishness and judgments and help the people around us who are in need.  They are closer than you think, and it's not always money (or healthcare) that they need.  Look with fresh eyes and see the struggling around you, and try to fix it.  The entire world might not change, but one person's world will.  And if history has taught me anything, it's that when you give a bike to the poor kid down the street he could grow up to be Lance Armstrong.

A List for Tuesday

Five People Dutch Prefers to Me (in order of preference):

1. Grandpa Greg
2. Aunt Dawn (Chris's brother's fiancée)
3. Daddy
4. Grandma Honey
5. Anyone else who happens to be nearby

That's right, Dutch only picks me when I'm the absolute last option.  Talk about a self-esteem booster.

For My Crazy Sister Cari

Who Are You Really?

Favorite color: It's so funny because I don't think I have one.  I was going to write a list of colors I gravitate toward, but I realized it was the entire rainbow!  I think I look good wearing red.  I like to buy bright things for Dutch, like oranges.  Chris looks good in greens.  And I've always wanted a kitchen that's robin's egg blue.

Earliest Memory: It's fuzzy, but I remember going to my grandparent's house on Spaceway Drive in San Antonio.  I was afraid of Grandma, but I saw Omi (my great-grandmother) standing just behind Grandma and ran to her.

Favorite Christmas: Hmmm, this was a hard one.  I've had a lot that I loved, but the most memorable was probably the year I went to Texas and stayed with my sister Carianne.  Carlye was born while I was there and it was pretty awesome.

Favorite Book(s): I have so many, but here are five of them: The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy, The Wood Wife by Terri Windling, Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie, The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, and The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

Favorite Movie of all Time: It completely depends on my mood. Here are five of my favorites: Big Fish, Pride and Prejudice, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Li'l Abner, and Disney's Hercules.

What do you collect? Why or why not?: Probably journals and notebooks (stop laughing Daddy).  I'm not sure why.  There's just something so promising about an empty book waiting to be filled.  Although as time goes on I've become much more discerning about which ones I'll buy (and the price attached to them).

Guilty Pleasure: I'm going to have to say watching Legend of the Seeker on Hulu.com.  It's a TV show based on some fantasy books.  It's something Chris would make fun of me for if he knew (so no one tell him).

The Way You Would Spend the Day If You Could: I would hole myself up at a cabin, sit in front of a window and write on a typewriter.  I'm sure it's much better as a fantasy than in actuality.  In my day-dreams the words always flow easily, whereas they probably wouldn't in real life.

When You Would Have Lived If You Could (time period): I am absolutely in love with the 40s and 50s fashion.  I have even been told by strangers that I have such a vintage look to me.  I probably wouldn't have been able to handle the expected subservience of women, however, so I'll just stick to buying vintage!

Something People Would Be Surprised to Know About You: I like to shop when I'm upset and I LOVE making lists of things.  Both are probably mental illnesses, but I don't care.

If You Could Travel Anywhere In the World Where Would You Go: Back to London.  I could live in England for the rest of my life and not mind at all.  I would also like to visit every famous library in the world.

All My Boys In One Place

We're all home and safe and together again!  I will post pictures and a more thorough post soon.

Mess With My Kid and I'll Shove You Down

It was such a beautiful day today.  Dutch and I went to the park with my friend Anna Lisa and her two kids.  Samisi, who is 4, was SO good and let Dutch follow him around and played so well with him.  Then, when Dutch was chasing after Samisi, two big kids (probably about 5 and 7 years old) came and PUSHED DUTCH DOWN!  I was too far away to smack them, so I did the next best: I threatened them.  This is what I said to them:

"Hey!  Don't shove my kid down!  Do you want me to come over there and shove you down?"

Then the 7-year-old said something saucy that I couldn't here, but they ran away quick like a bunny.  The two boys (who are probably home-schooled) went and started picking on another little kid that turned out to be their brother.  Later, when we were on the playground I saw the mother of those boys and she was wearing socks (like gym socks) with high heeled loafers, so she obviously had issues of her own to deal with.  She looked like she was going to say something to me, so I arched my eyebrow and waited.  She lost her nerve.

So the moral of the story is: don't mess with my kid or I'll shove you down.

Dutch's Attitude Lately: A Story in Pictures

Happy Birthday Bella Lou!

Bella and I on her fourth birthday (I think)

I love you and miss you and hope you have the best birthday ever!

Love,

Tia Pam

This, That, and The Other

Here are a few things you might not know:

• A week from tomorrow I'm flying to Pittsburgh so Chris and I can drive our car back here to Utah.  Dutch will stay in Utah with Grandpa Greg (who volunteered to take time off work to watch him!) because I need a vacation from my little guy.
• We have an apartment!  We found a great place that has a pool and hot tub (come on over), they allow Bo and even have a dog washing/grooming place right next to our apartment.  We're still planning on buying a house sometime in the future, but we needed a place in the meantime.
• For Christmas Chris gave me a two-week pass to a rock-climbing gym.  I'm FINALLY using it.  I haven't actually done any rock-climbing yet because I'm a wuss, but I HAVE taken full advantage of the yoga classes and they have been amazing.  Hopefully I will finally lose my extra baby weight, which would be nice since Dutch is almost 2 years old now!

Okay, I think that's about it.  Love and miss you!

The Mean Postal Man

I am the first person to admit when my kid is being a turd.  However, when he isn't being a jerk I don't want people complaining about him being a jerk.  We were at the post office today, a post office we've gone to since we moved here in December.  The ONE postal worker there is named Ray.

Today Ray went on my "I am never going to like you" list.  Dutch was being SO good, especially for him.  He was wandering around, but not touching anything, not yelling, not doing ANYTHING that could be construed as naughty.  And I hear Ray say to the ONLY OTHER PATRON in the whole place, "Children shouldn't be allowed in the post office."

If I weren't a lady I would have called him a bad name, but I didn't.  Instead I said, "I'm sorry my son annoys you, but what do you expect me to do, leave him home with our blind dog?"

I didn't wait for him to answer.

Granny O'Grimm

This is one of the funniest videos in the entire world.  It's only about 7 minutes long, so just take the time to watch it!  I hope it wins the Oscar tonight.

Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty

Guess Who's Almost 2!

Today Dutch is 20 months old.  That means it's only 4 more months until he's a big 2-year-old.  In honor of his 20 months, here's a list of 20 things you might not know about Dutch.

1.  I can convince him anything is juice if it's cold enough.
2. Grandpa Greg is his favorite person in the world and he's terribly distressed if Greg leaves, even if it's only to go out to the car for something.
3. When Bo walks toward him he assumes the dog is chasing him and immediately runs away laughing.
4. He can unbutton and unzip his jeans, but is still unable to take his jeans off (thank goodness!).
5. A few weeks ago he bit through his bottom lip and he now has a triangle-shaped scar just below his bottom lip.  It's like a little upside-down tee-pee.
6. I bought him a $5 stuffed animal from Kohl's and it's his favorite thing in the entire world.
7. He refuses to sleep with anything in his bed except ONE blanket.  No pillows, no stuffed animals, no extra blanket.
8. When we go on a walk he waves at every person and car that passes, whether we know them or not.
9. Grandma Honey gave him an old tricycle and he can't touch the pedals, but loves to sit on it and turn the handlebars.
10. Fruit snacks are his favorite food in the entire world and if he sees me put one in his diaper bag he throws a huge fit until I give him some.
11. He was always very willing to help with Baby Alexis.  For instance, he loved to share his fruit snacks and bottle with her.  Keep in mind she's only 4 months old!
12. Curious George and the Firefighters lap book is his favorite book (aside from the hymnal at church).
13. He "dances" by spinning around in circles when he hears music.
14. Discipline doesn't work (coming from Mama), it just makes him laugh.
15. We've started working on saying please and thank you and so far he's pretty good about saying them when he's reminded.
16. Outside is the best place to be, no matter the weather.
17. He's positively in love with Uncle's Josh's fiancee Dawn and my cousin Annemarie. 
18. He's eating with a fork and spoon off of a plate.  Most of the time he keeps his food on the plate (unless he's done and no one notices, then he throws it on the floor in protest).
19. Noise is better than quiet.
20. When he's tired he'll finally settle down enough to snuggle, but if he's awake there is no power in this world that will keep him on your lap for longer than two seconds.