Why must they be in Amarillo?

Disclaimer: If any of you live in Amarillo and/or have strong positive feelings for this town, please skip this post and come back a different time.

My previous post about the time on Ben's watch never changing ended with the comment, "They must be in Amarillo."

If you are curious about Amarillo, please be assured that the idea of time never changing in Amarillo is not an understatement. About five years ago, Rob and I, with my friend Tracy, were getting ready to move across the country, and we wanted to close on our house, so we started driving from Idaho to Georgia. Since it was January, we decided to go south through New Mexico, across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. The first night, we stopped to stay with my brother, who at the time lived in Albuquerque, NM. Then, the second night, we drove into Amarillo, TX. As we drove up, we looked at the clock in our car, and it was just turning 8:00. Rob went into the hotel to check in. While in there, he asked the receptionist "What is there to do in Amarillo?"

"Nothing," replied the receptionist.

"Isn't there a mall or something?"

"Yeah, there's a mall, but it's closing right now." (We had forgotten about the time change.)

"Isn't there some sort of park or movie theater?"

"Well, there's a bar about a mile away with pool tables."

"Isn't there anything else?"

"Nope."

So Rob comes out to the car, and I asked him if there was anything to do. He says, "Nope." And he related the above conversation. So we go into our room and watch whatever happened to be on TV. Since it was January, we couldn't even swim in the hotel swimming pool.

The next morning, we wanted to get an early start, so we left the hotel around 6 am. As we looked around for someplace to eat, the only place open seemed to be McDonalds. We walked in and up to the counter to order.

"You're up early on a Saturday," said the girl behind the counter.

"It's Tuesday, miss."

Appearently, Amarillo is the type of town where it's always Saturday, and there's nothing to do.

When we told my family this story in our weekly letter, my brother told his own story about when he was stuck there with a broken down car. He agreed that it's always Saturday, but there's really nothing to do.

A Conversation

Ben came to me and said, "Mama, put on my watch." (Mind you, this isn't really a watch, it's a pink bracelet that straps on like a watch, has a heart on the fron with a unicorn inside it and three tiny metal balls that the wearer is suppoed to try to get in holes.)



He then proceeded down the hall triumphanly calling out to his sister, "Jackie I have on my watch!"



Jackie sees the watch and says, "Ben is that your watch?"



"Yeah, I got my watch."



"What time is it?"



"It's 7:00." (I have no idea what the significance of 7:00 is BTW)



"It's 7:00 Ben?"



"Yeah, it's 7:00."



About 45 seconds later. . . "Ben, what time is it?"



"It's 7:00 Jackie."



"It was 7:00 last time. Isn't it 8:00 now?"



"No Jackie, it's 7:00."

I overheard the conversation and repeated it to Rob. He said, "Ben's smart, he knows that time doesn't move that fast."

But about 5 or 10 minutes later, Ben's 'watch' must have fallen off because he came back to get me to put it on again. Again, he runs down the hallway saying, "Jackie, I got my watch."

"What time is it?"

"It's 7:00"

"It has to be 8:00 now because it's been a long time since I asked."

"Nope, it's 7:00"

So I commented to Rob, "They must be in Amarillo."

The best posts have pictures

I know that the above is true, and for the first three months, I probably ought to post at least onepicture of Daniel per week so all of his aunts and uncles along with his maternal grandparents can keep track of what he looks like but honestly, that entails dowloading pictures off my camera once a week. At this point, I am completely swamped and exhausted, (Did I think I was tired with seminary before the baby was born???) and I can't seem to think straight let alone make it to places on time. Also, I start teaching two online courses for an online school on Monday. With setting them up, I'm not sure when I'll get sleep. At least I will have fun in the process, right?


Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. . .

Having had the chance

Now that the baby is exactly two weeks old, I have had the chance to try out my wraps with him. I have to say that I LOVE them. I love them bunches. I have tried out both the woven wrap and the knit wrap, and they both have their pros and cons. I with the little baby, I like the stretchy wrap better, but I think that as he gets bigger, I will like the woven one better. I like the cradle hold in the woven one better than the cradle hold in the stretchy one because as I keep wearing it, he starts to fall in the stretchy one, but with the hug hold, I like the stretchy one better mostly because once he is in, it's easier to move him around and nurse him. I have successfully fed him in the wrap while walking through a restaraunt, and you couldn't tell. I'm VERY excited. So, for nursing and the versatility, I highly recommend the wrap out of all of the different types of baby carriers that I have tried. However, for the ease of putting it on and the versatility, I still vote for the Mei Tai. But for the ease of taking it with you and for the speed of putting it on and the speed of putting in the child, I recommend a tube sling. So, mostly, for the next little while, I will use the wrap. I think that when the baby gets older though, I'm going to put him in the Mei Tai more. It's easier to put the baby on my back. Right now, I'm worried about putting him on my back in the wrap. I think that I could do it in the Mei Tai. However, since my Mei Tai is in storage, I won't be using it until Daniel is about six or seven months old. I'm really missing it. :( But I do love the wraps. They make life so much easier. I do like the tube sling too, mostly for the cradle hold. One big drawback to the wrap is that it's so big! It's harder to fold up and put in the diaper bag. (Five yards is a LOT of fabric.) Another drawback to the wrap is that I can't hold the baby and tie it on to begin with at the same time. It's easy to do both with a tube sling, and it is hard but possible with the Mei Tai. So there you go, after a good chance to try out all three different styles, I have come to the conclusion that good baby carriers are necessities, and it's a HUGE blessing to have more than one style.

Sewing Instructions:

For instructions on an easy way to make a Tube Sling: See Here.

For instructions on how to sew a wonderful Mei Tai style carrier, see Here.

To make a wrap, just go buy five and half yards of fabric, cut it lengthwise down the middle, and then, depending on the type of fabric, either zigzag, serge, or hem around the edges. If you have a serger, feel free to serge around the edges of any type of fabric. If you want to buy a wrap, I highly recommend the Moby Wrap.

I do want to put an informational bullet in here about ring slings. These slings are the most versatile slings around because they are so easy to change the way you wear them in the middle. Also, they don't have nearly as much fabric as a wrap, but they tend to work like a mix between a tube sling and a wrap. However, I can't in good conscience recommend them because many of the companies who make them have been recalled because the rings have broken where the ring comes together on itself. I have been to scared to try one out, but I have seen how they work, and they are really an ingenious invention. There is a company that makes wring slings that I have not heard of a recall from. If you want to try out a ring sling, I recommend this company mostly because the local La Leche League sells them, and they are pretty picky about their choices. So if you want to buy a ring sling, I recommend a Maya Wrap. Also, their fabrics are lovely. So if you are in the market for a baby carrier for yourself or some new mom you know, try these out!

Coming Home

Our house is a whole new world after coming home from the hospital with Daniel than it was before we came. I think that I'm feeling it a whole bunch more this time because I am minus my mother this time. With each of my other children, my mama was there when I came home from the hospital, and maybe she buffered some of the hardships for me and my children. This time though, it's just my little family--my husband, me, and my three children. I have noticed that since we've been home, it seems like our life is all about relationships. I guess that I pictured that we would have to form a new relationship with the new baby, but at the same time, I am realizing how much it changes the relationships we have all formed.

I'm seeing that as Jackie and Ben form a relationship with the baby and as I take care of the baby, it also changes the relationship I have with them. They love the baby, but at the same time, it's hard for them because it's one more person to share my lap, and Daniel needs my lap more often than he doesn't. Daniel is a very happy baby, but he loves to be held all the time. I'm starting to get him to stay sleeping for short periods of time when I put him down, but there are more times than not that I can't. I am working to hold the other kids more when I don't have Daniel, and for Jackie, that is working out. My relationship with her has changed more though because I rely on her more. I know that she's only four, but being four, she can do so many things. She is so happy to go get me a diaper, and she's so happy to find the wipes. She's happy to go get Ben's hand and bring him back out of the bathroom while I'm feeding Daniel. She loves to help, and I find myself relying on her more and more to be helpful. I'm so grateful for her. Ben seems to be having the hardest time. He's much more clingy. Today, he needed to climb onto my lap and just watch TV, and then he really needed to be held while I was trying to pour him some milk for breakfast. He's having a hard time with Daniel, but Ben loves Daniel, and he is soft with him.

I love my little family, and I'm so grateful for the chance to have this peaceful spirit in my home. Here are a couple of pictures from when we came home from the hospital.

Getting ready to go home and waiting to be discharged.

Getting ready to come home from the hospital

On our way out of the hospital


Ben and Jackie building their relationships with baby Daniel, and how Daddy's relationships with all three of them are growing.