Reflections on a Pacifier in C Major (as in 'See Major Problem')

Last night I found myself engaged in a massive family search effort. Brett, Camille, Max and I earnestly combed the entire house, garage and lawn for, of all things, a binky. I felt rather silly, actually, considering the intensity of all of our searching. We've never had any of the problems some people associate with pacifiers. We've never had any problems weaning them from it at an appropriate time. Ironically, our only child with any speech issues is the one that wouldn't take a binky! So, I guess you could say that we are good with the binky.

A couple of months ago, Brett suggested that it was time for Natalie to give up her pacifier. I laughed--out loud. Are you kidding me? Later, after watching the sacrament meeting chaos that ensued when I forgot the binky on two consecutive Sundays, he was in hearty agreement. So that is why he was searching just as frantically as I was.

Binkys have a way of slowly losing themselves over time. They disappear, only to be rediscovered under a couch cushion or under the crib. Some days you have three or four laying around. It seems like there are binkys everywhere. Then sometimes, like last night, you find yourselves down to the last binky and suddenly you've lost that one, too! If you are lucky it is at 9am on a Thursday. If you aren't, it is right before church, nap time or bedtime. Chaos ensues!

So, we looked everywhere. Multiple times. I stopped feeling silly about the Pacifier APB when I walked into Natalie's room and saw her swollen, tear-stained face peering at me over the side of the crib. She kept calling for her binky. So, off I went to search the lawn where she'd been playing earlier in the evening. I found myself saying a little prayer that we'd find it. Lo and behold, not five seconds later, Brett finds it in the gravel by the gate. A little soap and water and all was well.

I know it may seem simplistic, but Heavenly Father and His Son care about sad babies, upset moms and lost binkies. It is the 'Tender Mercies of the Lord' and is one of the many small ways in which He constantly demonstrates His love for us. Better than the binky was the look on Max's face when I told him and Brett about my prayer. "Of course we found it, then," was his response. I'll take that kind of teaching experience any day.

Pacifiers as faith-building tools. Who knew?!

Pigs and Potato Pearls

Yep. Swine Flu has reared its porcine head (or from what I hear, part swine, part avian, part human . . . is that is an image from an old 'B' movie, or what?) in our area. I'm not really concerned about the flu itself since it is supposed to be so mild here in the States. What I am concerned about is that if anyone gets sick, we are pretty much quarantined here at home for a period of time. I quickly realized last night when the news broke of a confirmed case in Spokane that I wasn't ready. So, this morning I hit Walmart very early to buy more diapers, Motrin and some perishables.

Over the years we've tried to be diligent about our food storage. I wish I could say that we've had a full one year supply, but we've made consistent efforts toward that end. While the topic of food storage for some may conjure visions of nuclear winters or other doomsday scenarios, we have found ourselves building and using our food storage, particularly our three month supply, in much more ordinary kinds of circumstances.

When I was pregnant with Natalie, I felt a compulsion to build our storage, from freezer items to toilet paper, etc. Within a couple of months, I was on bed rest for five weeks and couldn't go to the store for these everyday kinds of items. Once I was allowed back up, we started to immediately rebuild our storage in time to begin using again after Natalie was born. The scenario repeated itself when Natalie was hospitalized for RSV eight weeks later. (Maybe we should call her our food storage baby!) Once again we were in rebuild mode. In December we were buried in 80 inches of snow in one month and had a difficult time getting anywhere, let alone to the store. Thank heaven for 4 wheel drive or we would have been homebound for three solid weeks! In January we stocked up again, but this time we found ourselves with an employment issue. Brett was furloughed from work for 8 of 10 weeks. We were blessed in that case to have him called into work for several of those weeks and to be able to use vacation and sick leave, but we still weren't buying groceries for fear of what could be coming. And now here we are with the possibility of a health crisis.

I don't know if you were keeping track or not, but that is six events within eighteen months that were major enough to cause us to dip into our three month and one year supplies, not to mention our cash reserves. I think I'll be singing 'We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet' a little louder next Family Home Evening.

This afternoon I'll be working on my garden beds and inventorying my storage again.

Phosphate Smoshphate

Some of you may have seen in the news that Washington state has enacted the second strictest phosphate ban in the country. Spokane, lucky us, is the pilot county for this program. You can no longer buy dishwasher detergent with phosphates in it here. Average law-abiding citizens have found themselves running across the border to buy bootleg detergent in Coeur d'Alene.

In these difficult economic and dish-washing times, I wouldn't be surprised if people start driving to the bad neighborhoods where shady characters lurk on street corners selling Cascade out of their trunks. Then, before you know it, the price will go up and they'll start cutting the Cascade with cheap shower gel to make a better profit. Then innocent people will find their dishwashers overflowing with bubbles and damaging their plumbing with the contaminated product. Insurance companies will go bankrupt repairing the damage and will request a government bailout. The Sierra Club will protest just because they have to have something to protest about. Rush Limbaugh will rant until he turns purple. All the children of America will be forced to scrub pots and pans with their bare hands in violation of child labor laws.

All for the sake of a little phosphate . . . .

Woe is us.

A Few Stray Items

Max the Mathematician
Max competed for his school at the Math is Cool competition a couple weeks ago. They are on 4 man teams in events like team tests, brain math (all calculations in your head--no paper), relays, and college bowl sessions. Most of the public and private elementary schools in the greater Spokane area field multiple teams, so there were an awful lot of kids there. Max was pleased when he won the top individual from his school.

Max was pretty upset when he found out that Math is Cool and the Pinewood Derby were on the same night. When we explained to him that the rest of his team would have to drop out if he didn't go to Math is Cool, he recognized where his responsibilities lay. His friend Joseph agreed to run his car for him. While it didn't place, Max did get to have the fun of making the car and spending some time with his dad.

Can a grown-up use a pediatrician?
We took Natalie in for her 15 month check up. She weighed in at a feathery 18 lb. 13 oz, gaining only ten ounces in the last three months. That puts her at about the 3rd percentile for weight. This isn't a bad thing--she's just a little bean. But, the pediatrician wants to make sure she isn't running off more calories than she can consume. So we are supposed to start putting more butter on her bread, feeding her Ritz crackers with peanut butter and whisk cream cheese into her scrambled eggs! Now THAT is the kind of prescription I'd like!

Words of wisdom from Natalie
Daddy. Dad. Mom (She doesn't call me Mommy . . . kind of weird, I think.) Banana. Duck. Cow. What's that. This. Drink. Cookie. They may not be wise, but that's all the words she says, so take your pick.

Hope it is a whole lot warmer, sunnier and less dreary where you are than where we are!