I’m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel (can I get a HALLELUJIAH?), and today I stopped by my advisor to make sure things were on track.  As she was scrolling through my millions (yes, millions!) of credits she noticed I had not officially applied to receive my associate’s degree even though I am qualified for it.  I suppose I was so focused on the bachelor’s that I never really thought about the associate’s, but I figured I should get that taken care of.  If nothing else, at least it will help me feel like I accomplished something. 

So, I just logged into the school website and went through the degree application process.  Everything was going swimmingly until I reached the last step:  paying $20 to apply for graduation.  Whaaaa…???  I assumed the THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS I spent in tuition over the years would cover the whole degree thing! 

How foolish of me! 

Aargh!!

But we’re not here to discuss The Kite Runner today.  I want to talk about Hosseini’s second book, A Thousand Splendid Suns.

I do a lot of reading, and there are a lot of books that I don’t feel are worthy of typing out a full review.  But people, I finished this book two weeks ago, and I am still thinking about it.  That is the sign of a great book.  (By the way, I am not reviewing this book for any sort of compensation.  I just liked it so much that I thought y’all might like a good book to read too!)

The story covers the lives of two women in Afghanistan over the span of about 30 years.  It starts out a little slow, but eventually picks up the pace.  The author does a fantastic job of developing his characters and allowing you to feel a connection to them.  Hosseini does an even better job though of immersing you in the Afghan culture.  I must admit that I know very little about Afghanistan or other countries in the Middle East.  Ever since reading these books by Hossieni, my husband and I have been utterly fascinated with the culture in that part of the world.  Hosseini gives you a glimpse into the culture that I don’t think would be possible to obtain another way other than physically visiting the country.

If you are looking for a light-hearted book, this is not the one.  Many of the scenes are positively heartbreaking as Hosseini unfold a story about war and a society that does not value women.  I was often horrified to realize that while the story itself is fiction, these events really are taking place with real people on the other side of the world.  I actually feel the author is doing a great service to Afghanistan by writing such compelling books about it and bringing attention to the people there.  The country is not full of terrorists as the media would portray.  There are good people there who are victims of warlords and extremist ideas and a repressive society.

I gotta say, this book really made me appreciate my own life and especially my husband.  I often stopped to reflect on how very fortunate I am to live in a country where I can dress how I want, marry who I want to, go to school, hold a job, vote, and basically do whatever  the heck I want!  (aaannd…cue patriotic music in the background!)

Hosseini is a beautiful writer, often able to convey a complex idea or feeling in just a short phrase.  To me, the writing itself is just as important if not more important than the story line.  I think that is often the difference between an okay book and a great book, not to name any names…*cough* TWILIGHT *cough*…So far the author has only written two books, but I am anxiously awaiting for his next one to come out.  I would read anything he writes.

While the book was often sad and disturbing, I did really enjoy the ending…but I’m not going to say why!  You’ll have to find out for yourself.

The book is for a more mature audience.  There are a little bit of swearing, some sexuality, and some graphic images of war.  However, if you are looking for a book that will change your perspective and stay with you long after you finish it, I highly recommend A Thousand Splendid Suns.

I swear Claire came out the other side of her illness even cuter than before.  She truly lights up the room with her happy personality.  She has developed quite the sense of humor and jabbers all day long.  I could just eat her up, she is so stinking adorable.  I’m sure she’s getting tired of having me kiss her chubby cheeks, but I definitely can’t get enough.

So now it’s back to the daily grind of juggling schedules and racing from one place to the next as we try to go to class and work and fulfill our duties at home.  It is exhausting, but I do feel good knowing we are being productive and filling our time with good things.  Some days I don’t even realize there are people leading lives that allow for leisure time, until I hear someone mention they went shoe shopping or they went out to pick up a new necklace.  Shoe shopping?? I can’t even remember what it is like to browse through a store, looking for something to buy.  Occasionally I will try to squeeze in a few minutes of online shopping, but being able to actually wander around a store, touching and trying on merchandise, sounds like an absolute dream to me.  I’m sure someday we will reach that point again.  For now, it’s best if I just pretend a life like that doesn’t exist and that everyone spends their time either trapped in a classroom or trapped in a cubicle or running somewhere in between.  My alternate reality is quite the sanity-saver.

I tried again on Thursday, but I suppose I was still too exhausted and burned out that I could hardly keep myself from banging my head on the keyboard and then falling asleep.

I guess what I’m saying is, it’s been a rough week.

Since the broccoli barf incident, things went steadily downhill until we reached the point where Claire was vomiting 10+ times a day from coughing so hard, lethargic, burning hot, and just the saddest little girl you’ve ever seen.  I thought my heart couldn’t break any more, until another puking episode required yet another bath.  As I set her down next to the bath to take off her onsie and diaper, her little legs were visibly shaking from being so weak and tears ran down her chubby cheeks.  I tried valiantly to fight back the tears myself, but my heart just couldn’t take it anymore.  Truly, there is nothing worse than seeing your child in pain or discomfort and not being able to do a single thing about it. 

On Sunday we went to the Urgent Care to see if we could get Claire back on the road to recovery, where they took chest x-rays and gave her injections of antibiotics and all sorts of other torturous things, only to discover a couple days later from her regular pediatrician that she was MISDIAGNOSED (AARGH!)  and I now have a several hundred dollar medical bill coming my way and my little girl did not get any better.   

So in the midst of all the not sleeping and barf cleaning and soothing and fretting and whatnot, Brady’s body decides the sinus/cough thing he had been fighting for a while just wasn’t enough.  On Tuesday night he suddenly started experiencing extreme pain in one of his ears, to the point where he was almost in tears.  After a few agonizing hours he felt a pop, some relief, and fluid began draining out.  I sent him to the doctor the next day and sure enough, he had an ear infection.  Later that night, the other ear did the same thing.  You should see his pillow after having fluid draining from both ears all night.  In fact, I could probably post a picture…what?  No?  That’s gross?  Well, that’s no fun.  So anyway, the man can’t hear much but is on the mend at least.

Add to the mix some stressful changes at work, and then summer semester starting for both of us yesterday!

WHEEEE!!!

How’s your week been?  Better, I hope!

In other news, she also came down with a nasty cough a couple nights ago.  The husband has actually been sick for weeks and finally went to the doctor to find out he had RSV, of all things, so there is a good chance that is what she has too.  At 10:00 PM we could hear the dreaded deep, strong, barky cough coming from her room.  It woke her up and caused her to cough so hard that she threw up all over the floor.  Poor girl.

Last night we went in to check on her around midnight and were punched in the face by the smell of vomit as soon as we walked in the room.  It seemed extremely odd, since we never heard anything aside from a little coughing, so there’s no way she actually threw up, right?  Upon closer inspection, we discovered vomit on her sheets.  We rolled her over and lo and behold, there was barf covering her pj’s, blanket, and hair.  It must have been a rather pleasant and peaceful experience for her this time around, because nary a peep did she make.  We woke her up, stripped her and the bed, and discovered chunks of broccoli barf dried in her hair…and on her cheek…and down her neck…and onto her back… and on her hands.

This is the kind of stuff they need to teach to crazy teenagers in sex ed classes.  Are you ready to clean up chunks of broccoli barf at midnight instead of partying with your friends?  ARE YOU? If that doesn’t scare them straight, I don’t know what will.

In the tub she went, the poor little thing bleary eyed and bewildered, wondering why she was woken up from a peaceful sleep and thrown into the water.

I sure do love being a mom and my little girl.  But if there was one thing I could eliminate from motherhood, it just might be cleaning up vomit.

What do you other parents think?  What would be the one gross/onerous task you would eliminate from daily life with kids?

Each new stage brought new questions.  At some point after her teeth started coming in, I realized they wouldn’t just keep themselves healthy.  Do I have to like, CLEAN these things??

I remember reading in a parenting magazine that once there are two teeth that touch, parents should floss their kids’ teeth daily.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Have they met a baby?  Better yet, have they ever met a TODDLER?

Needless to say, the flossing isn’t exactly going as the professionals recommend it should.  However, we have tried to be pretty diligent about brushing my daughter’s teeth.  She’s gone through phases of loving it and not loving it so much, but we’ve almost always been successful by making it a game or showing how daddy does it or something along those lines.  Lately though, she will have none of it.  If we even start to walk into the bathroom to brush her teeth she’ll flail and flop and fuss.  When we try to actually put the toothbrush in her mouth it turns into a full-on meltdown.  Some nights we give up and just let her “brush” her own teeth.  Other nights we beg and try to make it fun.  Last night my husband just held her arms while I tried to brush her little teeth as fast as my hand would go.   Not pretty.

So now what?  I’m hoping this is just a phase.  I don’t want to give up brushing her teeth, because dental care is important.  I want to establish healthy habits with her, and if I just give up because she puts up a fuss that will set a precedent for future tooth brushing and other issues I’m sure.

As a sidenote, some may argue that dental health doesn’t matter for little kids because they will just lose their teeth anyway.  However, that isn’t true.  If kids teeth rot and fall out too early, it could damage the development of their permanent teeth as well as their placement and overall health.  Not to mention the importance of gum health, which they will carry all their lives.

So how do you get your toddlers to brush their teeth?  Do you floss your kids’ teeth?  If so, HOW? (I’m guessing you must be magic to get them to hold still!) What is your philosophy on the whole thing anyway?  Advice is welcome.

There’s a lot of crap out there.  Like really, a LOT of bad stuff.  I can’t help but wonder how or why I have been so blessed.  Sometimes stop and think about all the horrible things that people have to deal with and I’m amazed at how fortunate I am.  I’m not saying I don’t have my trials and struggles, because I do.  But even though they feel pretty major to me sometimes, I would much rather deal with the crap I have over most of the other options. 

When I think about how lucky I am to have a loving family- both my immediate little family and my extended family- a warm home, health, a job, an education, a safe place to live, food, friends, the chance to do fun things, etc…my heart just feels as though it could burst!  The fact that I’ve been spared from war, famine, disease, catastrophe, and so many other things makes me feel weak with gratitude.  Life could be so much worse, in so many different ways, how could I ever have the audacity to complain?

Sometimes I can’t help but feel so unworthy to have been spared such heartache.  I know there are so many better people than me out there who have suffered.  I’m truly so lucky.  I hope someday I can be the kind of person that deserves such good fortune, and in turn be the kind of person that can bless the lives of others.

I used to know him as the guy in the house with his eyes glued to Sports Center. Or a Yankees game.  Or Jazz game.  Or pretty much any game at all.

These days though, I find him curled up in the corner of the couch, TV off.  Reading a book. Happily reading a book, I should say.  Everywhere he goes he carries around his novel so he can crack it open during a dull moment.  Then, later that night he wants to talk about the book.  The story line, the characters, the way the author writes, the way it makes him feel. (Can you believe it?  A man talking about FEELINGS?)

Internet, my husband has become a nerd.

And it is so hot.

I’ve been a book nerd my whole life- and proud of it!  I love to read.  Like really, LOVE to read.  I don’t have much time to do it these days, sadly.  I have to be very selective about when I choose to pick up a book, because if I do everything else goes right out the window.  Laundry?  Forget it.  Eating?  Nope.  Sleep?  It can wait.  If I read something I throw myself into it, so I really only do it over holidays and vacations now.

When I married my husband I knew he did not enjoy reading, and I was ok with that.  Just because I loved it didn’t mean he had to as well.  I had fully accepted that we would never be one of those old-fashioned couples on TV, both in our pj’s, sitting in bed reading together.  Sure, that sounded nice, but it wasn’t a dealbreaker.  There were plenty of other things we had in common.

But now!  He’s a new man.  Do you know what he said to me the other day?  “Sometimes I’d rather read than watch TV!”

*Swoon!*

He wants us to read the same book at the same time so we can talk about it as we go.  SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT BOOKS!  Be still, my beating heart! So far he’s read almost five novels since January.  That’s more than he’s read in probably the last ten years.  Seriously, I don’t recognize the man, but I love him.

Guys, you want to know the secret to a woman’s heart?  Take a genuine interest in something she loves.  Whether it be reading, cooking, scrapbooking, traveling, running, bird watching, underwater basket-weaving, or whatever, just take an interest.  You don’t have to do it yourself, or love it as much as she does, but TALK to her about it as though you really care.  Works like magic.

Ladies, same goes for you too.  This last baseball season I sat down with my husband and actually watched the Yankees play in the World Series.  And something crazy happened: I liked it. But more importantly, he loved it.

Common interests strengthen a marriage…who knew?

What common interests do you share with your significant other?

Anyone have any must-read books they would suggest?

On April 24th we will be hosting a baby shower for The March of Dimes Teddy Bear Den program.  The program gives low-income women in need incentives (in the form of diapers, wipes, new baby clothes, etc.) to participate in pre- and post-natal care and to avoid risky behaviors during pregnancy, resulting in fewer infants with life-threatening birth defects.

If you would like to attend, donate, or learn more please visit the Service Soapbox website.  Consider yourself officially invited!

The past few days she has positively oozed cuteness from every pore.  I’ve been priveledged to spend plenty of uninterrupted time with her, which feels rare these days considering the hectic schedule I am constantly trying to keep up with.  She has been playful, talkative, cuddly, and curious.  We’ve had conversations about everything under the sun (some of it I didn’t understand, but she sure seemed to be interested!)  We’ve read books over and over with her sitting on my lap, pointing to pictures and giggling.  We’ve sung songs and played in the park and she let me kiss her chubby cheeks as much as I wanted to. 

This morning she greeted me with her usual cheery, ” ‘I Mama!” as I walked in her room to get her up.  She jabbered as I got her ready for the day.  We said hello to the world as we opened the blinds to let the sun in, and I told her I would make her a waffle for breakfast. 

“Faffle!” she exclaimed, her face lighting up as I put her down to get things ready.

“Faffle!”  she chirped over and over, stamping her feet in a happy dance, her little fists balled up in excitement and a smile on her face.  “Faffle!”

It’s times like that I wish I could put under glass to preserve for a later time when I know things may be challenging.  I do my best to capture the moment in my mind, but just like all the other moments I’ve tried so hard to preserve I know time will dim the edges and make it blurry and hard to recapture. 

Still, I am grateful I will have the memory, even if it is imperfect.  Someday I will likely get a letter like this tucked under my pillow, and I’ll wistfully remember the day I was my daughter’s hero because I made her a “faffle”:

I found this today on one of my favorite websites- PassiveAggressiveNotes- and it cracked me up.  Not exactly the love note mom was hoping for, I’m sure!  I suppose it could be worse though, right?