Bye Bye, Blow Dryer

For the past few weeks, my blow dryer had been acting funny. Whenever I used it, I had to make sure the cord was in a specific spot or else the dryer would turn off. I think there was a short in it.

So it didn't surprise me when, a few days ago, I plugged it into the outlet, flipped the switch, and nothing happened. I wiggled the cord around. I pushed the reset button a few times. I kept flipping the power switch off and on. But...nothing. No go.

The thing had lasted for years. I used it in high school. My sister three years older than me used it in high school. I think my sister five years older than me might have used it, too. I knew it was going to be a goner soon, but I had planned to use it until it actually died, died.

I finally stopped trying to turn it on because I was afraid it might start throwing sparks or something crazy like that at me. I unplugged it, shrugged my shoulders, and thought, "Well, I guess it's finally bit the dust," and put it on the toilet to deal with it later.

I've been trying to be more proactive lately about throwing things away, so when I found time to take out the trash, I was proud of myself for remembering to pluck the blow dryer from the top of the toilet and place it into the white bag along with all the other trash before taking the bag out to the dumpster.

As I swung the garbage bag high over my head and flung it overboard, I heard the satisfying "thunk" of junk being gone forever from my house, hallelujah! (At least for a few minutes, ha - it's like the short-felt satisfactory feeling of finishing the last load of laundry, right?).

As I walked back across the parking lot to my apartment, I also felt a twinge of pride for taking care of my deceased blow dryer so quickly and a twinge of excitement that I now had an excuse to buy a new one.

Later, when my hair was finally dry and I had some time to style it, I went into the same bathroom (easy, we only have one), plugged my straightener into the same outlet, and held down its power button for a few seconds to turn it on.

And...nothing.

No red light.

No numbers signaling how hot the straightener was.

No warmth emanating from the two, parallel plates.

I stared at my straightener for a few seconds. Then I unplugged and plugged in the straightener again and again, alternating between the only two available bathroom outlets. In desperation, I wiggled the cord up and down and back and forth even though I knew there wasn't a short in the cord.

And...still nothing.

I knew four things: 1. My straightener was only a year old. 2. I had taken really good care of it. 3. I hadn't had any issues with it whatsoever. And 4. I went into my bedroom to test out the straightener on a different outlet - it worked. So I knew it wasn't my straightener that was the problem.

It was the stupid outlet.

Just as that fact dawned on me, I thought back to the moment earlier when I had smugly tossed that white garbage bag away and for a second the image of me trying to climb into that huge, smelly dumpster and save my not-so-lifeless blow dryer popped into my head.

I saw myself sifting through all of the dirty diapers, the food gone bad, the banana and orange peels, and reaching and stretching my hand through now-unrecognizable things covered with dirt, slime and probably infested with fleas, maggots, disease, and other horrible things in order to finally grab hold of the prized, black-gone-gray-through-the-years blow dryer and holding it above my head triumphantly. (With, I'm sure, a few of that indescribable mess plopping onto my head.)

Then I shrugged my shoulders again and thought, "Well, at least it wasn't my straightener."

I guess I'll be air-drying my hair for the next few weeks.

Are You Making Fun of Me?

The other day I wasn't feeling very well. Luckily it was on a Saturday, so Jayze was able to help out throughout the day. In the evening, when I had finally ventured out of the warm, comfy (but confining) bed and was sitting on the couch holding Kimball on my lap, Jayze and I discussed dinner options. After a few ideas were tossed here and there, we decided on Navajo Tacos.

As Jayze walked to the kitchen to start making them he asked me, "Do you remember when we made fry bread from biscuits?"

I cocked my head, trying realllllllly hard to recall. Did we ever do that in Rexburg? I said out loud, "Mmmmm, nope, I actually don't remember that. It doesn't sound familiar at all. But let's not do that tonight though, because that sounds gross."

He shrugged, looked a little confused, and said, "Really, you don't remember that at all? Okay, no worries. I'll do it the old fashioned way."

While Jayze took care of making dinner, I watched the kids. He got everything on the table and Aidan and Jayze started eating while I fed Kimball a bottle. Once Kimball was done, I set him down on the floor to play with a toy and then I started eating. It was quiet for a little bit, and then a thought occurred to me.

I poked my fork into a piece of fry bread topped with tomatoes, beans, spinach, etc, and asked Jayze, "Remember when we made fry bread from biscuits?"

Silence.

Then, "Are you making fun of me?"

Surprised, I looked up to see Jayze staring at me, and I asked, "What?"

Jayze said again, "Are you making fun of me?"

I said, super confused, "Nooooo...I was just wondering...remember when you made fry bread out of the canned biscuits at the hotel? That was really good!"

He said, "I just barely asked you that!"

I tried to remember him asking me that during our previous dinner discussion. Nothing. Nada.

I said, "You did?"

Exasperated, he said, "When we made the decision to make Navajo Tacos, I asked you if you remembered when we made fry bread from biscuits."

............................................

It dawned on me.

"Oh."

Whoops.

Me again, "Well, I thought you were talking about homemade biscuits...not the canned kind. And I couldn't remember doing that at all in Rexburg. I seriously didn't remember! I'm not making fun of you! I'm sorry...."

We both sat there for a second and then we both busted up laughing at the same time.

I think I'm losing my mind.

Aidan Funnies

Okay, I started writing this post a couple of months ago. So some of these are outdated, but I kept them here because I don't want to forget them!

Wrote these while we were living in the hotel:

Words (my favorites - he obviously says a lot more than what's listed here):

• Bimball = Kimball
• Uck = truck and stuck
• Juice = juice and shoes
• Eba = Zebra
• Ippo = Hippo
• Eeow = Cat
• Rawr = lion, bear, tiger
• Byyy Byyyy Byyyy = I want to sit by you
• Wuv ooo = Love you
• Ahma = Alma
• Hyperventilating = monkey
• Biiiiiiite = I want more food
• Baby = baby or movie
• Coookiiiieeeee! = cookie

Aidan, holding a fistful of spinach, asks me: "Biiiittte?" Meaning, do I want his spinach?
Me: "No, I already have spinach. That's yours. Are you going to eat it?"
Aidan looks at me, then looks down, then looks back at me and moves his hand towards the garbage and says, "Traaaash."


While watching Planes and eating dinner, I noticed Aidan dipping his pizza in the smoothie. I thought it was cute and funny and wanted to capture it. I tried to get his attention and kept asking him to look at me and smile when he finally turned to me, put his finger to his mouth, and said, "Shhhh....." I guess I had it coming for how much I tell him to shush because the baby's asleep.


I'm feeding Kimball and Aidan wanted his jacket off. He started to unzip it but didn't unzip it all the way. He got frustrated, so I helped him unzip it all the way. Then he got frustrated that it was unzipped all the way and wanted it zipped again. I offered to help, but then he didn't want it zipped. So he tried taking off his jacket, but his arms got stuck and he got frustrated and desperately said, "Uck! Uuuuuuck!!!" So I helped him take it off, and then he got frustrated that it was off. So I started to put it back on him and he didn't want it. I finally put it on the couch and he was finally satisfied. Whew.


Aidan was smiling and hanging out with Kimball after Kimball woke up. I had unswaddled Kimball and left him in the bassinet while I went to the kitchen to make a bottle for him. When I came back to get Kimball, I saw Aidan trying to give Kimball the piece of apple Aidan had been eating. So cute.


Me to Aidan: "Do you want to eat breakfast?"
A: "No."
Me: "Are you hungry?"
A: "No."
Me, holding up a box of cheerios: "Do you want some cereal?"
A, gets an excited look on his face: "Cereal!" and comes happily running to his high chair.


Me to Aidan: "Do you want to eat lunch?"
A: "No."
Me: "Are you hungry?"
A: "No."
Me: "Come on, let's eat."
A: "No."
Me: "Well, I'm going to put you down for a nap. Do you want to eat before you go down for a nap?"
A, running to his high chair: "Eeeeeeee!!!" (eat) - he'll do anything to stall sleeping lately


Written more recently:

Whenever we pray before bed, Aidan has to make sure all of his trucks are put down in one spot. Sometimes we'll be waiting a couple of minutes before he's all done.


The other day I was trying to juggle a lot of things at once. Kimball was crying, and I needed an extra hand. So I asked Aidan, "Hon, can you give Kimball your giraffe to play with? He's so sad." Aidan picked up his stuffed giraffe, threw it at Kimball, and hurriedly backed away.


Me: "Oh, shoot!"
Aidan: "Ah, shooot!"

Me: "Dangit!"
Aidan: "Dangit!"

Me: "Criminey!"
Aidan: "Imney!"


Me: "Guess what, Aidan? Kimball's awake! I need to go make his bottle real fast, can you go say hi to him?"
While I'm in the kitchen making the bottle, I hear Aidan open my bedroom door where Kimball is, excitedly run in and say, "Hi!"


Me: "We'll eat dinner as soon as Daddy comes home."
Jayze walks in and says, "Hi!"
Aidan jumps off the couch, runs to his chair, and yells, "Eeeeeeaaaatttt!"

Aidan: "Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom."
Me: "Aidan, Aidan, Aidan, Aidan, Aidan."


Pointing to Jayze, Aidan says, "Daddy!"
Pointing to me, A says, "Mom." (he never calls me mommy, just mom haha)
Pointing to himself, "Adinnn."
Pointing to the bedroom where Kimball's sleeping and resting his hand on his cheek, "Kmbllll, sleeping."
Pointing to Kimball, "Kmbllllll."
We're still working on him figuring out where Alma is. :) But the other day he saw a church and said, "Temple. Ahlma. Jesus," so we're getting there.


I love my two-year old. Life with him seems to get better and better as he keeps growing up.

Puddle jumping