Ok, so maybe I just need to get the product pushing out of my system, so here comes one more. (Is is obvious I do not have too much to do right now? I am working on getting some work ready for next month, but I just kind of hang out while Brian is getting ready to open the Pearl Fishers this weekend. It is a nice life, but a little strange for someone who used to do a lot of things. Anyway. . . )
Thanks to Colin's most recent adjustment to my glasses (below) and that these glasses were over 5 years old, cracked at the top, etc, it was time to get new glasses. We need to be very careful with our glasses around Colin because he is not the most gentle eyeglass handler. I prefer to think of him as our eye wear destroyer. One of our last days in Tel Aviv, he broke Brian's glasses. Lucky we lived next door to an eye wear store and they were able to fit Brian's lenses in a new frame (for about $175). As Brian is nearly legally blind, we were glad we could at least save the expense of new lenses and all.
So, my old college roommate Ruth told me about Zenni Optical, http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php They offer complete eyeglasses from $8. We were a bit curious, and even if they were horrible and impregnated with lead, at least we would not have put too much money into it. I had been carrying around my eyeglass prescription in my wallet since I had an exam in March, but I never had time to actually go somewhere to get glasses.
I chose two frames, both from the $10 selection. I also got sun glass clips (extra $4 a frame) and shipping is a flat fee of about $5. I got my order in one week and here are the results:
They seem like great glasses, and for $30 for two pair, I could not be happier (sure beats $175 for frames alone in Tel Aviv). One pair needs a little frame adjustment, but the prescription feels fine and they are well-made glasses. Brian wanted to wait and make sure the glasses do not give me debilitating migraines before he ordered any. And Brian, being the double-checker he is, did some on-line research about mail order glasses. I'll have to get him to find the blog, but he found some guy who has dedicated an entire blog to comparing on-line glasses- he is seriously on some kind of crusade against expensive opticians. Brian is now excited to order too. His prescription is a bit more complicated than mine, so to not get coke bottle glasses, his glasses will probably be about $50 a pair. Still pretty great. And though it may seem tricky to order glasses without trying them on, if you have been wearing glasses for a few years you probably know what you like, and for not much money, why not try something crazy.
Maybe my brother Pat can find some new huge glasses (see http://hinckleyhouse.blogspot.com/2007/10/faves-from-pat.html). Anyway, just wanted to share the good deal. They have kids glasses too.
Again, I think the product endorsing has gotten through my system so we will be back to just posting photos of Colin.
Before we found these big wheeled toys, we weren't sure if the $5 admission was justified, but Colin had such a blast, and Daddy also kind of enjoyed it.
Colin especially loved the Hay ride- we were pulled behind a very impressive tractor (one of his favorite words).
You can barely see the cute little pumpkin Colin was running around with. He likes having his own.
Since I highlighted my favorite stroller in the last post, here is another plug (that I get to enter in a contest for putting on my blog). The plug is for topless undershirts from Blush. www.toplessundershirt.com They are quite clever, like a tube top for your belly to add some length to your shirts without the bulk of an entire undershirt. I am looking forward to using them through my pregnancy and postpartum to cover baby belly and post-baby belly. And how great for nursing to have something covering your middle (or my middle actually). But they are not just for pregnant people! They have lots of photo examples on the website.
Today I wore my black topless undershirt quite successfully. Anyway, here is a link to an actually topless undershirt demonstration from their creators. I encourage you all to go topless.
http://www.abc4.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoId=76509@video.ktvx.com&navCatId=8
Brian has asked me to please gestate the baby for 12 months instead of 9, as he would like a little more time to get ready for the baby. Especially close to 40 weeks, I think I will be ready to have the baby out and not in. This addition to our family did happen a little quicker than we anticipated, but he/she will be a welcome addition.
We have been telling Colin there is a baby in Mommy’s tummy and pointing, but this just makes him point to the baby in his tummy. He loves babies and kids, so we think he will enjoy the future role of big brother.
As for the baby, we are happy that by week 10, the baby’s tail is nearly gone and the little tiny thing look more human than alien. When we were expecting Colin, we read some great info about how if the baby kept growing at the rate it is growing in-utero, the child would be as large as the sun in early childhood. (We need to verify the info, but pretty amazing.) From weeks 10-20, the baby grows from less than an inch to about 8 inches.
So I am feeling somewhat ok about a new baby since we have the Phil and Ted wonder stroller. We currently use the stroller everyday in the single position with Colin, but once the baby comes, the stroller magically transforms into a double stroller. This stroller became my obsession when we were in Israel where everyone in Tel Aviv had very fancy strollers (like $1,000 strollers). Our friend Amberly who also taught us to breathe fire introduced us to the Phil and Ted. I consulted her via email and started watching the stroller on ebay. I made a totally low ball bid one night, and woke up the winner of a new stroller! It really is the best stroller if you are looking for a jogging stroller and plan to have a couple of kids. It is a great stroller even if you do not jog, very maneuverable, folds easily, great design. I really want to work for Phil and Teds.
Look at all the stroller does!
Since Brian has to work on Halloween, we went to the Kansas City Zoo today for some of their trick or treating.
Colin was a little unsure of his pumpkin at first (we think the face was a little too much for him) but he warmed up to it when he saw people will put candy in it. And his monster truck is never out of reach.
I had intended to go out and take some photos on the plaza when the light was beautiful. However, due to Colin's previous commitment to Baby Einstein, I missed the light by maybe 20 minutes. So here are a few more evening shots, trying to make the most of what was left of the light. This area really is amazing.
We didn't realize before coming that we were going to be so close to a lot of sites that are significant in Mormon history. We knew about events that took place in Independence and Liberty, but didn't realize that these are now basically suburbs of Kansas City. So today we took a field trip to see Liberty Jail (oxymoron?) where Joseph Smith was incarcerated on trumped up charges for a number of cold winter months. The jail itself is a recreation from some original materials inside a big rotunda visitors center. It was interesting to see the actual dimensions- the ceiling not high enough for a tall man (which Joseph Smith was) to stand straight, straw on the floor, and tiny slits of a window. The revelations received in this setting are some of the most searching in Joseph's output and are particularly meaningful in light of the dire circumstances. One thing I didn't know was that Joseph's son came and spent the night with him once during his incarceration. The son later said he was quite scared after dark fell, but that one of Joseph's friends who was also present sang some silly songs and he felt better.
After the jail, we went and wandered around the very charming town square in Liberty and Colin enjoyed some municipal water fountain time.
We went to a fun Mexican restaurant on the square where Colin displayed his highly developed chip and salsa technique- dodecatuple dipping (he doesn't actually eat the chip until it's soggy).
Colin models Daddy's hat.
A couple more evening views of Liberty after we left the restaurant.
Colin went to a little Church Halloween party tonight. He does not always love his Monkey costume (that he calls George) but he liked it more when we told him it would get him treats. All Colin needed was one treat. In the little trick or treating at the party, he first got a sucker and at the next person giving candy, Colin wanted to trade his sucker for another candy. He will get it later. Why don't we have more holidays were we walk around and get candy?
Colin loves to hide in our hotel closet, and look in the mirror (above).
We had to take a sleepy walk this afternoon on the Riverfront. About once a week, Colin takes a nap strike, as he did today. About 15 minutes into the walk, he was out cold.
Note cuteness.
I call this one 'thinking it through' and dedicate it to Danal.
Not even bathtime can separate Colin from his favorite monster truck. It goes everywhere with him.
OK, not the cutest photo of Colin (above) but we have not had the camera out in the last couple of days. The photo was at the ribs restaurant we went to last week, where Colin took a bite of meat, spit it out, maybe had a bit of bread and a packet of fruit snacks. We have been perplexed by his recent toddler eating habits. He used to be a very adventurous eater, trying everything as we traveled fairly far reaches of the world. But recently he will not even put things in his mouth we know he will like. Like last week when we went to McCormick and Schmick's for lunch and ordered him the kid's chicken strips. They were the most amazing chicken strips Brian and I have ever had, and we would go back to order them again, using Colin as our excuse to order from the kids menu, they were that good. But Colin would have nothing to do with them.) Since he was used to eating some very exotic things, this is a strange, but I guess a normal toddler change. Even more strangely, his favorite, sure fire foods are soy beans, frozen corn, boiled eggs, noodles, french fries, and milk (at least there is one green thing on the list). And very strangely, we went out for sushi the other night, and he could not get enough of the seaweed salad. (We said it was noodles.) Who knows.
He is also still giving us fits at bed time, now getting out of bed and falling asleep on the floor in front of our bedroom door. He likes to wiggle his little fingers under our door as he calls to us. He has begun to put two words together, and when he calls out "Mommy back" it makes it hard for me to not go to him. Oh baby. . .
Just a random pink chandelier from the City Market. Nothing to do with toddlers, but toddlers would probably like it. Colin still likes lights.
We spent yesterday afternoon in Independence, MO to look at some Mormon Church history sites, and as it turns out, some President Harry Truman historic sites also. Above is Clinton's Soda Fountain, where Harry Truman got his first job for $3 a week. We did not realize there was a soda fountain and we bought fancy root beers at another store a block away, but we did get some ice cream at Clinton's.
Mormon history includes LDS splinter groups. The Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has its headquarters in Independence and this is their Mother Ship. I do not know too much about their current beliefs, but we come from the same history.
On a completely different thought, I get fairly sad and lonely sometimes because when we are on the road, we have no friends. Even when we were in Utah, we were not very good at seeing old friends or making new ones. It is pretty lucky Brian and I enjoy spending time together because we see a lot of each other. Even when he is working on a production, we most likely see more of each other than married people with normal jobs. But I still miss my old friends. So when I was sad this week, I called our old friend Megan (pictured above mourning Brian's tragic stabbing death in a piazza in Florence) and told her how much she would enjoy visiting us in Kansas City. She bought an airline ticket that very night to come! We are very excited for her upcoming visit. I have known Megan and her sister Gretchen for almost 25 years, and Brian became friends with Megan in 1993 during our freshman year at BYU. Megan lived off campus, and as Brian and I were in the dorms, we spent a lot of time at her apartment. This did seem to cause a dilemma for Megan, as she was a Junior and she was hanging out with Freshman. We always tried to reassure her that we were cool Freshman. We are happy she still hung out with us, and 14 years later is still such a great friend to come and see us in Kansas City.
These are a couple of photos from when Megan came to see us in Indiana. She came to see us in New York City earlier this year too, but we took no photos.
