Not so friendly skies....

Greetings from Northern California - Etna to be exact (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etna%2C_California).  It has been a long journey to get here and this is how it went down:  Saturday Robert dropped JJ and I off at the airport in Little Rock to begin the day.  It all started at check-in when my bag was 5 lbs over the limit.  Instead of paying $25 I took out 5 lbs of stuff and stashed it in the stroller.  I got a plastic bag from a vendor to store it in giving me a third bag to keep up with on top of JJ.  The flight was booked so I checked his car seat at the gate with the stroller.  Upon boarding, I eye-balled two grannies towards the front of the plane with an empty seat between them.  I knew it wouldn't get any better than this.  They loved JJ and freely allowed him to crawl all over them.  With 45 minutes left in our 3 hour flight JJ was so tired not having had his morning nap and began to get fussy.  I walked the aisle a bit and we found another grandmother with her five small grandchildren to which JJ took a liking.  JJ sat in her lap and eventually she was fine with holding him for a few minutes.  This was the only thing keeping him calm.  I went back several minutes later and she says, "He peed on me."  His diaper leaked and sure enough, made a deposit on this nice woman.  It wasn't much but enough to get him kicked out of seat 16D.  The grannies helped me change his diaper and we stuck out the remainder of the flight as he cried restlessly.  Upon landing in Las Vegas, I went to the restroom and air-dried his pants.  I was in a hurry to meet my friend for lunch during my three hour layover so I tossed the pants on his stroller and off we went.  I met my friend Chris and we headed out for lunch at Chili's.  It was nice and quiet and a good break.  I got back to the LV airport and had to go through security.  Remember the extra 5 lbs.??  Well it came back to haunt me as they pulled me aside to work through my medicine bag of lotions, hairspray and the liking.  This was never an issue in LR so I never gave a thought to encountering an issue in Las Vegas.  They took my lotion and JJ's special eczema lotion.  I was really irritated considering I already had to wake JJ from his slumber to go through security (send the car seat and stroller through the x-ray machine) and now they were TAKING MY THINGS!!!!  What could I do?  Nothing so I carried on.  It was around this time that I realized JJ had no pants.  They are either in the Las Vegas airport parking garage or the Chili's parking lot.  We definitely looked like we were from Arkansas as JJ fashioned himself with shirt and diaper attire.  I never thought about packing an extra outfit for him.  Anyway, I felt like the second flight would be much better.  JJ had had some milk and seemed more rested.  Our 2:10 flight took off at 3:00.  Nice to have that extra 40 minutes to occupy a one-year old.  It was actually a good flight until just over half way through.  JJ's morning poop came through with flying colors.  It was of guacamole-type consistency and poop smells bad but really even worse SMEARED ALL OVER MY PANTS!!!  I thought, "Jump into my nightmare, the water is warm."  All other passengers were oblivious to my struggle.  We had an empty seat to our left and the guy in the window seat was sleeping.  I had to think fast because poop was spreading to his hands and feet and my arms and really starting to smell.  I was in the front row, glad to be close to the bathroom.  I hustled there and got his diaper changed and cleaned him as best I could.  I was now poopier than he.  I stuck my head out and asked the flight attendant for some assistance.  She took JJ in a blanket and sat in my seat and gave me some ginger ale.  I pored it on my leg and started wiping.  I was working fast and to my delight it came out pretty good.  I got back to my seat and took JJ and worked him over with some more wipes.  My pants dried in about 10 minutes and I felt like I had survived.  I looked around and the passengers did not miss a beat.  All the better I suppose but I really wanted a medal for what I had just gone through.  JJ never fussed this trip and we landed and found Aunt Freda.  I felt so much relief to have some support.  It had been a long day.  We spent the night in Portland and headed to Etna the next day.  It was about a 6 hour drive.  Portland was so beautiful of what I saw.  It was like a city plopped down in the middle of a rain forest - so lush and green.  That rainfall pays off in the spring I suppose.  We've had one full day in Etna.  It has been relaxing and JJ and I have now recovered from our travels.  We will enjoy our time here until we go back to Portland Thursday.  We are driving to Medford, OR and then flying to Portland since the drive was so long.  It will be much quicker that way.  I have already begun to plan my attack for those travels!

No place like....home?

JJ and I returned from OKC yesterday. We arrived Thursday for my dental appointment. Long of the short of it is that I ended up having to stay until Monday for a root canal. It was no big deal. I even drifted off to sleep during the procedure! My mouth is a little sore today but no cold/heat sensitivity. Now I just have to get a crown. Grandpa Joe LOVED his visit with JJ. He babysat while I was at each appointment. They went on walks, worked in the yard, played, etc. It was good bonding time for them both. I went to my cousin Stephanie's shower on Saturday. She will be having her third baby in two weeks and it is their first girl. At the shower I saw my friend Maggie and this is her shout out - I found out she is another reader of my blog. A few of us got into a discussion about who really reads what blogs. So, for all I know there is a total stranger out there following my life story. Anyway, I successfully sold some items on eBay and made about $46.00. Not bad for junk around the house. Robert is glad to have us home. We went on a bide ride last night and enjoyed the cool whether. Now I have a few days to prep for our CA trip, two softball games this week, workout, and a YoungLives function. While I was in OKC it was the first time I started to feel like Conway is now my home. There is a big difference between the two places and even though life is slow in OKC, it is SLOWER in Conway. It made me appreciate the life we have here and the pace at which we live. Conway is home.

Toad Suck Daze

We had a great weekend here. It was beautiful weather and Conway was hosting it's annual Toad Suck Daze festival (www.toadsuck.org). Robert and I rode our bikes to the festical four miles away and pulled JJ in the trailer. It was lots of fun and yesterday we got to hear Natalie Grant in concert at the festival. The most intriguing thing for me was the Stuck on a Truck competition. It started Thursday at noon and went until last night at 1 amish. 24 contestants have to keep at least one hand planted on a truck and the last one standing gets the truck. They had a webcam and everything to watch (http://www.stuckonatruck.com/) . It was amazing to me that people can stay awake for 85 hours straight with only minimal breaks and no sleep.
This is going to be a busy month with the CA trip and this weekend a quick trip to OKC. I am having problems with one of the fillings that was put in last time I was there and I need to get it fixed. I've started listing some things on eBay again to get rid of some boxes around the house. It's more fun to do with less pressure riding on the outcome. See you later.