Dallas, Birthday, and Wisdom Teeth

I love traveling but there's something about being in your own home, where everything you need is within reach and there is order in your world, that can't be duplicated. I knew taking Evan this last trip to Dallas was going to be tough on him. I didn't understand children's need for a semblance of a schedule and continuity until Evan entered the picture. Wake up 8am, 3 naps on a good day, lots of eating, playing, terrorizing Lucy, and unorganizing the organized in between, and in bed at 9. That was our schedule before we took our trip to Dallas. I knew it was going to upset his little life because the week before I went with Jimmie to visit Liew and Andrew in Richmond (2hrs South). Evan was fine until it was time for him to nap or go to bed. "This is NOT my crib! Where's my nightlight?! Where's my storybook and music?! And don't I have a humidifier humming all night?!" As you can guess he didn't sleep well, and neither did I.

Staying at Mark's grandparents was a little of a challenge. We got a PeaPod, it's like a little tent with an air mattress built in that travels well, for Evan to sleep in. He did well on naps in it but I didn't count on him sleeping there all night the way he tosses and turns. He ended up sleeping better on a comforter spread out on the floor. Of course their home isn't baby-proofed, so we had to clean, block, and move everything out of his reach, and even then I can't really let my guard down.

At home I try to work around Evan's schedule, but on the road it's out the window. So what do we do to apeese the Evan? Feed him! Nothing distracts him more than food. During our trip he learned to ask for food. I tried teaching him sign language, like the word "more" when I'm feeding him, but he never caught on to the hand motions as he did to saying "mmum" instead for more food. While in Dallas, Grandma was carrying him around the kitchen when Evan spotted a banana on the counter and cried out "mum! mum! MUM!" I don't know how he knew thats what bananas looked like either, because I don't remember ever showing him the whole fruit.

When Evan's in a good mood he says "Da da da DA!", when he's in a bad mood he says "ma ma mmmma!" Go figure.

The rest of the trip went well. Evan learned to sit in a high chair instead of climbing out of it. He got lots of practice, since every meal was spent at a resturant. Oh, by the way, we'd always eat Chinese food in Texas on past trips, and finally we had what Texas was known for, steak!

We visited aunts, uncles, and cousins, who met Evan for the first time. Went to a Texas Rangers game (Mark's having some buddy time with the Ranger's mustang, and I'm with Florida's Marlin Billy). And went outlet shopping. (3 pairs of shoes for $40 @ Nine West?Priceless.)

The weather was in the high 80's the entire time we were there. Nice but we couldn't take it coming from the cool 60's in DC. And I didn't pack summer clothes for Evan either. He was such a sticky ball of sweat at the end of the day. poor kid might as well have slept in just his diapers. Now I'm dreading summer time in DC.

The other thing about leaving on trips, is that Lucy gets housed with our friends Kate and Aaron while we are away. It always takes a few days to 'retrain' her when she's home. Its so much work to rediscipline her that she's relieving herself in the right places and not chewing and eating things she isn't supposed to. I'm glad she figures things out pretty quickly.

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Last weekend Mark's sister Rose came into town to see the National Cherry Blossom Festival. It sounds like a geriatric thing to do, to go see flowers bloom, but there's a lot that goes on around DC for the festival. Rose, Evan and I spent the day watching the Japanese dance performances, walking under the trees (the petals were already falling), admiring the Smithsonian's outdoor garden, and the Hirshorn modern art museum. I was so proud of Evan for being good about sitting in the carseat or stroller all day. He let out all his energy at the Thai resturant later that evening. BTW, I was almost run over by the back half of that pink and white dancing lion.



On Sat we all drove down to Richmond to celebrate Andrew's birthday, luau style. Nice to have old friends live so close. I don't usually like to dress my whole family in similar outfits, but matching aloha shirts from Mark's brother are an exception at a luau. The best thing we gave Andrew for his birhtday? Magnets for his fridge! It was a funny thing that they were trying to hold up 4 things with 1 magnet they got from their hospital on their fridge. Happy Birthday, Andrew!


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I'm not looking forward to Friday... Usually Friday is a good thing. TGIF, Good Friday, Fun Friday, Friday-the-beginning-to-the-weekend-day. But not this Friday. I'm scheduled to have all 4 wisdom teeth extracted at 8:30am. *whimper*

I had a traumatic experience at the age of 6 with the dentist in Singapore. I saw kids being dragged kicking and screaming down a hall into a brightly lit room. Naturally, I did not want anything to do with that hall nor the glowing room. The next thing I knew my dad had me by the hand and was taking me down the hall of doom. All I remember after that was the cold room, masked people with crazy lensed glasses and rubber gloves holding my head and arms and legs down while I was crying and struggling. They put this huge gas mask over my face that I remember it covering my whole face. Then I remember it getting quieter and darker, like going into a tunnel backwards. The last thing I saw was the dentist's masked face, and I remember being SO angry at him that I wanted to grab his face and rip it off. I don't know if I really did put my hands up. I woke up to a sore face with 4 missing teeth and a mouth full of gauze.

Well, 20 years later I'm finding myself in a similar situation. I'm going to be put under, they're extracting 4 teeth, I've never met this oral surgeon, and I haven't been told what this procedure is going to consist of. You'd think that I'd have a consultation with the dentist first? Maybe it's so routine that they don't need to see me, just my x-rays?

The one good thing is that I'll be out and not be conscious to hear see or feel anything. It's too bad labor isn't that way, and you'd wake up with a baby in your arms. ;)