Splat!

Uh, I didn't know what to call what I'm about to throw down here. Total random snippets. But stay tuned for the story at the end. It really zinged me.

-We have arrived safely and happily in Flower Mound TX (near Dallas). We are staying in this beautiful home of another Bain (firm with whom Spencer is interning this summer) family who are doing a stint in Stockholm. We are thoroughly enjoying every minute of pretending that their life is ours. "Just think, in a year, we'll have all of this!!" We say as we load the dishwasher and look around at the high ceilings, walls painted in good taste, and plenty of room for us all... It's been fun. Thanks to everybody who helped out with the move. It was a lot of work and took a lot of volunteer hours from friends and family, who knew that I wouldn't have a chance to repay the debt.

- Campbell says her first word. She is now 10 1/2 months but about a month ago I noticed it. It's hard to tell exactly when a child says her first words, and I personally don't count "mama" and "dada", because for one thing, it's a given, and for another, it's really hard to tell when they start saying it discriminately instead of just babbling. Okay, and this is testament to what a truly awesome soul she is: DANCE. When the kid hears a good beat, she sways that bigbig head of hers side to side, or bounces her knees, or wiggles, and shouts "Da! Da!" It's consistent, and it's meaningful. Yay to an awesome first word. Cadences, by the way, was "light". She thought it was really funny that the light fixture above her highchair was shaped like a ball. And she became fascinated with it. Anyway, not to steal Campbell's thunder. I am really very proud of her!

-Last week was a really really exhausting one for everybody. We spent Mon-Wed moving moving moving. Nothing but moving. If Mikalyn hadn't come out to help, and as I mentioned before, if everybody hadn't pitched in, it wouldn't have happened. Anyway, so I slipped in a shower before we pulled out of town on Wednesday. Then we spent three days in the car. You know what road trips are like, right? I wear comfortable clothes, my hair gets all crazy looking, and I really don't care.
So on our final day on the road, we stopped at an Arby's off of the freeway near OK City. It was hot and humid, we were tired and anxious to just get to our final destination. After lunch we all hit the bathrooms and I found that there was no changing table in sight. A mother's option at that point is the ground. I have had to pull this move many times. I always feel weird about it because it's not very private, I don't know how many gross-o's have spit on the grass or worse, etc. Anyway, I found a spot of grass shaded by the Arby's sign and I dropped my backpack to the ground and got to work. Right after I exposed Campbell completely, I noticed that the guy stopped at the light just next to us was staring. "Come on, Perv, she's just a baby!" I thought to myself. I became even more annoyed by Pervert McGee when the light changed and somebody behind him had to honk to get his attention. Anyway, I wrapped things up and as I stood and gathered my things, I noticed Pervert McGee pulled up in his truck next to me in the parking lot. I was alarmed. He rolled down his window and asked so sincerely, " Do you need money?"

I think he was pretty embarrassed when I explained that we were just passing through town on a long road trip and that I was just fine. And then it hit me. I looked homeless. And I really really did. A sad, homeless redheaded mother, just trying to find a place to stop and take care of my baby. Oh, I must have been a sorry sight. I thought it was kind of him to take the risk of offending me because if I had been homeless, I really would have been desperate, I'm sure. But I was still pretty glad when, as he left the parking lot, his truck was positioned so that he could see me climb into my Jetta with my husband and family. :) The rest of the day, and ever since then, really, I was/have been a little self-conscious.

*ps, more about Mikee's visit and the road trip when pictures come. Our camera has been lame-o, so I'm relying on others.