Recent Obsessions

A few weeks ago, I decided I'd had enough of Elmo's World, so it magically disappeared from Benjamin's world. He's funny. Almost every morning after breakfast, I'd get the usual visual examination, then Benjamin would point out a soiled spot (usually on my pajama pants) and say "Mommy so dirty. Mommy take a shower. Benjamin watch Elmo!" Well, actually nothing has changed, except now he inserts "Boo's Cues" in place of "Elmo." Yes, Blue's Clues is Benjamin's new found obsession. My friend mentioned to me one day that her daughter loves that show and actually interacts with it, so I thought I'd give it a chance.

He started pointing out clues everywhere we went once he started watching this silly show. A few Sundays ago, I put a little gray truck (that happens to have a tiny blue paw print on it) in the diaper bag. During Sacrament meeting, he excitedly pointed out that there was a clue on the truck! Then the usual dialogue that follows goes something like this: "So. A first clue. Find a nope-book! Then draw a line..." I found a cute "thinking chair" for him on Craig's List so now he has a place to figure out what his clues mean. I also made him a "notebook" that looks similar to the one in the show so he can write all of his clues down. So I admit I'm definitely indulging this silly craze, but it seems to be a little less mindless than Elmo's World.

Obsession #2: these adorable dinosaur books by Jane Yolen that Paul's Aunt Claudia introduced us to. She gave us "How Does a Dinosaur Clean Up His Room?" and Benjamin immediately loved it and wanted to read it all the time. He now wants to be a "good little dinosaur" about things like eating, cleaning up, going to bed, being nice to friends and behaving at the doctor's office. It's very much geared to little boys. And the illustrations are awesome!

I checked out "How Does a Dinosaur Say Goodnight?" and "How Does a Dinosaur Get Well Soon" from the library a few weeks ago, and those became part of his regular bedtime story line-up.

This week, Benjamin started to get a fever and a runny nose, so I found myself using lines from the book to help him understand what he needed to do to get better. "He drinks lots of juice and get lots of rest. He's good at the doctor's, 'cause Doctors know best...He take all his medicine without a fight. He closes his eyes. He whispers good night..." He has been totally cooperative and is almost over it.

Yesterday when I sat down to read with him on his bed, he said to me, "I LUDD (love) reading stories with Mommy!" Benjamin talks all the time of course, but sometimes he catches me off guard with his perfectly constructed, unprompted sentences. And this one was really sweet! I love reading stories with Benjamin too!

I don't think you have to agree with me politically to understand why Sarah Palin is my newfound obsession. She is awesome. Paul and I saw her on Glenn Beck three months ago, and loved her. When I heard the announcement that Sarah Palin was John McCain's VP pick, I was really excited. And I was not previously excited about John McCain at all. She is going to do great things for this country, regardless of whether McCain wins or not. Her speech at the Republican National Convention blew us away. She is smart, articulate, and fearless. She also happens to have great morals.

It's been interesting to watch how angry the liberals have gotten over her nomination. Paul's Dad directed us to this article about her and a little about the history of liberalism. We both really liked it. I believe in electing good leaders, and I believe she would be.

Another new obsession of mine is Jell-O's sugar-free Chocolate pudding. I met with the nutritionist this week who will be working with me for my gestational diabetes, so now I have a clear idea of what I'm in for for the next seven weeks. I have an eating schedule that I have to stick close to throughout the day, but it's almost exactly how I normally eat, so no major adjustments. I have different "carb choice" allotments for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Generally I have to incorporate a "meat" and "fat" into each meal or snack as well. I've started to pick up on what are good choices, and which ones are a waste. For example, fruit juice--as much as I love it--is not a good choice, because it's such a tiny portion. Not very satisfying, so I'll usually go with whole fruit. Sugar-free chocolate pudding on the other hand, is nutritionally the same as a glass of milk, and it indulges my need for something sweet. Good stuff.

The lancet that I use to prick my finger four times a day really isn't bad at all. It doesn't hurt, it's just a matter of remembering to do it at specific times. So I'll make it! I just think about people who have to go on bed rest for weeks or months, and I'm reminded that my situation isn't bad at all!

And last but not least, meet Paul's and my new favorite obsession: this mattress. When we first moved to Wymount, we needed a bed, so my friend told me she found a used one for $300 that we could buy from her. So we did. This was not one of our wiser decisions.
My Mom saw what we were sleeping on about a month later, and immediately went out and bought a piece of plywood to go between the box spring and mattress. It didn't improve the situation much. Much of our nights have been spent rolling from one side to the other because that side was numb, and each morning we'd wake up a lot achier than we were when we went to bed.

Well, almost four years into our marriage, and we finally decided it was time to do something about it. With Paul's bonus, we found an amazing deal on an AMAZING mattress this past Labor Day. OK, so it might have been a little over the top. When they delivered the monstrosity to our small bedroom, we looked at each other like we might have made a mistake, but then we laid down. It was no mistake. Yes, the mattress is 22" thick (our old one was 7", just to give you a reference)and we'll eventually have to find special sheets for it, but man. What a difference a good mattress can make! Maybe bed rest WOULD be a better option... :)