kwik-e-mart, eh?

mmm...donuts

Kevin and Peter outside the Kwik-E-Mart

Yay! Mountain View is one of 11 cities with a 7-Eleven-turned-Kwik-E-Mart. You gotta love movie merchandising when it's this fun.

Despite the rumors of it being super crowded, we waited until a Saturday afternoon to go. Luckily, it was pretty empty when we arrived. (When we left, though, a line was forming at the door. I had to leave to get my wallet from the car, and then had to bribe the security guard to get back in.)

I was kind of surprised by how much had been changed in the store. Sure, the changes were all cosmetic: character cutouts, signs promoting the Kwik-E-Mart, donuts, squishees, Buzz Cola, and Krusty Os. But there was a lot more than we'd expected. Plus, you gotta love the exterior!

Peter stayed asleep the entire time we were there, which probably was nice as it allowed us to extend our stay. It also saved him from what surely would have been an entry in the Annals of Horrible, Terrible, No-Good Parenting, as I can envision myself giving Peter his first taste of Squishee. Oh, well, at least he can say he was there.

Tangent Thanks to this month's Backpacker, my interest in Glacier National Park has grown exponentially, leading to this conversation:

Amy: We should go to Glacier soon.
Kevin: I know, it will be melted soon.
Amy: I wonder if seeing a glacier will be something Peter can brag about. Like, in 65 years he can say (in old man voice): "I saw a glacier once, sonny."

Kwik-E-Mart

54 photos

who does this sh*t?

Day 2 of single parenthood wasn't tough, exactly, but it did end on a kind of rough note.

So I was really looking forward to a bowl of ice cream. Sadly, I ate all of the Creme Brulee, but I remembered that we still had another container in the freezer.


Yeah. We had some. About three spoonfuls.

This is clearly Kevin's doing. If I saw this little ice cream left in the container, I'd finish it off.

Did I mention it's time to start the diet?

sigh...

Just a few of the fun play options we have available!

Kevin's left for his first conference since BDR's arrival. Clever readers may realize that Kevin's absence means Peter and I are home, alone, together, for something like 90 hours straight. This will certainly be Very Tiring, but also Very Rewarding.

Tonight's lessons?

(1) It is really SO much easier to bathe a baby with four adult hands.
(2) Diapers have a purpose. Namely: keeping things clean. If you have a freshly-cleaned baby, it's probably wise to put a diaper on him pronto.
(3) Even if you want to get your dinner started, you can't really put the baby down an hour early. Because he won't go to sleep. And you'll just get frustrated. And no one wins. So, kick back, watch Dr. Phil, smile at the baby, and wait for him to smile back. You're in love with the booger, right?
(4) Then - eat dinner! Stop posting! Then, have some Ben and Jerry's Creme Brulee ice cream, because you're at home all alone and no one can stop you from eating straight from the pint. (Bonus points for doing this while watching Shaq's Big Challenge.)

(Note: I realized two weeks ago that I'll be going back to work at the end of August, and, unless I plan on wearing my okay-if-pregnant-but-kind-of-ugly-if-just-post-pregnant maternity clothes, I need to start dropping some of this baby weight. I was kind of hoping the Breastfeeding Fairy would come and take these extra pounds away, but she seems to be held up in customs or something. So...the diet must start. Sigh. I was really getting used to dessert three times a day, too.)

little reader

It looks like our love of reading might have been passed to the next generation...


Peter loves his Hearts and Stars book (and his Spots and Dots as well). He'll look at these pages for what seems like an eternity for a baby.

matchy-matchy

Kevin and Peter rocked their semi-matching Carolina pride yesterday.

Davis Family Adventure: The Conclusion

My parents left very early yesterday morning for their flight back to Indiana. Whew! (That's for my father, who told me I was free to blog about how "relieved" we were that they were gone.)

But seriously - whew! We did a ton with them during their two weeks home. Yesterday was spent in recovery: both Peter and I were power nappers, and Kevin pulled out the Battlestar Galactica, a sure sign that nothing of consequence will be accomplished on a well-deserved lazy Saturday.

It was nice they could spend so much time here, because they were able to see just how much Peter changes daily. And, in a few weeks, they'll get to see him again as we visit Indiana.

Until then, some memories of the last week of their trip:

Mission San Juan Bautista
The largest of California's 21 missions, and site of Hitchcock's Vertigo. It was pretty cool, if only for the crazy statue of John the Baptist outside.

Peter's Opinion: Nice, because it was mostly inside or in the shade. Plus, it was only a short car ride - always a plus! Thee out of four Pampers.

Locusts and wild honey, indeed! SJB's looking a little too much like a Calvin Klein model here.

Old Town Sacramento
It looks old, but it's full of all kinds of modern treats, like taffy and ice cream. As Kevin said, "I didn't expect it to be full of stores, but they're the kind of stores I like - candy stores and joke shops."

Peter's Opinion: Kind of a far drive, and a little sunny for me to enjoy it fully. Plus. there were too many loud trains. (This is true: the loudest Kevin and I have ever heard Peter cry, aside from those times when he received a shot, was when a train chugged past us and unexpectedly blew its whistle. It was pretty heartbreaking how upset the little dude was.) Two out of four Pampers.

The Uncle Sam Handshake Rater told me that I'm an "expert on everything." Damn straight.

Taffy, taffy everywhere...but it's all dolphin free (??).

Jelly Belly Factory
So, yeah, we've been here before, but it was on the way, the baby needed a diaper change, my father wanted to collect the "elongated coin" found inside, and Kevin and I knew that it serves Blue Bunny ice cream. And we love that Blue Bunny ice cream! This is how we came to enjoy ice cream before 11 a.m.
Peter's Opinion: Love those bathrooms! Four out of four Pampers.

For the record: Birthday cake and cotton candy ice cream goes down really easy at 10:37 a.m.
Also note: Kevin's watch is 5 minutes fast.

Egyptian Museum
Pretty interesting, even if we all were exhausted! Peter's Opinion: I was very, very quiet. Three out of four Pampers.

A probabilist's work is never done.

Mission San Juan Bautista

Jelly Belly Factory

Old Town Sacramento

Egyptian Museum

Sicko made me feel oh-so-sick

Last night Kevin and I took advantage of yet more free babysitting and saw Sicko. A few comments:

(1) Kevin now is fully on the moving to Toronto boat. Now, we just have to pray for a job opening.
(2) The birthing rooms at the NHS hospitals in Britain are really pretty sweet. I saw a ball and a hammock, and who knows what other devices were tucked away.
(3) Just when you think postpartum emotions have stabilized, you find yourself with tears dripping down your faces. I hope this will end, soon, because it's getting a little old.
(4) Did I mention Kevin's down with moving to Toronto? Just checking.
(5) See, the good thing about moving to Toronto is that we can ensure our children will have very little chance of thinking that dropping off uninsured sick people at a homeless shelter is okay. I'm not really sure how we, as a country, have sanctioned such heartlessness as perfectly fine.
(6) And we say we live in a "Christian country" with "family values."
(7) Kevin adds, "the thing about the taxes that I told you." Which is: Michael Moore should have taken a cue from political science professor and not-so-secret socialist John Stephens and shown that there is very little difference in disposable income between a country like Sweden, which provides a TON of social benefits via taxes and redistribution, and the United States. (Sure, the United States does provide some social benefits - Social Security Administration, anyone? - but who really relies on these benefits? Would you say, "well, I'm unemployed, but at least I get Medicaid!")
(8) Kevin also adds, "we'll move to Toronto."
(9) And, a bit of irony:

pyschic powers at work

For a while I've harbored a suspicion I'm somewhat psychic. Kevin and I often say that I "know things." Usually, these "things" are pretty lame.

Here's one that's not so lame:

During Peter's early morning feeding, I had the sudden realization that the photos hanging over his bassinet would be pretty dangerous in the event of an earthquake. I never really think about earthquakes, even though there is at least one a month out here. (It might be different if I'd actually ever felt one.) Earthquake safety has never, not once, figured into my thought process.

Potential deathtrap.

A few hours later, while talking with my parents, I learned that there was yet another earthquake in the bay area, this one near Oakland.

What's amazing about this? My thoughts about earthquake safety took place at almost exactly the same time as the earthquake.

Transformers

Taking advantage of free babysitting, Kevin and I saw the Transformers tonight. (We arrived at the Transformers after realizing that it was theonlysinglemovie being shown between 8 and 9 p.m.)

So, while movies such as the Transformers clearly do not stand up to plot scrutiny, we did have these comments and questions:

(1) Why couldn't Megatron kill Shia LaBeouf? Really, if I were a giant alien robot, I'd hope I could take out little Louis Stevens.

(2) I can make a case for why the Transformers needed to transform into the first automobile they see...but why can't they re-transform after? I mean, wouldn't Optimus Prime want to be something a little more agile than a big rig?

(3) Why do I suddenly want to buy a Camaro? And drink a Mountain Dew? And call on Deloitte & Touche for all of my accounting needs?

When the movie didn't feel like a really long GM commercial, it was pretty fun. It was kind of cool to see the robots blowing up stuff. Kevin and I alternated between almost having seizures (due to the non-stop frenetic activity) and enjoying the ride.

Really, it's a lot better than the other Transformers movie, which Kevin rented from Netflix a few months ago. I suspect that it could only have been enjoyed under the influence of mind-altering substances. It's telling that the first Transformers movie reminded me a lot of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

gratuitous baby pictures

adventures

The Davis Family Adventure continues, with trips to:

Big Sur

Big Sur

11 photos

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Monterey Bay Aquarium

22 photos

Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz

26 photos

Stanford

Stanford

12 photos

My sister left this morning, but my parents will remain for another week. The non-stop momentum of their visit will wane now that my sister is gone, which is a bit of a relief since it's exhausting to be on vacation with a newborn. (Especially since Kevin's needed to work most of the past week.)

tall trees and a tiny baby

The Davis Family Adventure began in earnest today, as we trekked across the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods National Monument and Stinson Beach.

We saw some tall trees, some beautiful beaches, and dressed our baby in a truly ridiculous manner.

My mother patiently waits for us.

Did you know Peter is half reptile?

Kimberly and me.

Kevin and I decided that we'll never, ever, ever, ever try to go north of San Francisco on a summer weekend, even if there were a free festival of all-you-can-eat ice cream and cotton candy and popcorn and a dance party featuring all of our favorite bands and professional athletes. The drive is..."needlessly painful" is perhaps the most charitable way I can describe it.

Davis Family Adventure

29 photos | Edit

a good reason to declare bankruptcy

As related by Kevin's officemate:

Apparently, there once was a student from "one of those European countries" who, upon coming to Stanford, decided not to get the employee insurance. Why would he need to? He's getting it from his country, right?

And his wife became pregnant.

And they delivered.

And they got the bill.

And they realized, with what I can only imagine is bone-chilling terror, that their national health insurance didn't cover babies.

So, they did what any good American would do: declare bankruptcy and return to the Motherland.

Again: how does one possibly give birth in this country without health insurance?

TV Tuesday

This is the Hopen. Using the verb "to hope" write your own dirty joke.

It was going to be drive-in Tuesday, but someone didn't want to drive all the way to the dodgy part of San Jose to see Ratatouille. So, we watched:

The Ringer.
(1) How do movies like this get made? Really.
(2) The Special Olympics dorms have the same bed that KJ and I have. (Kevin: "I thought it looked familiar.")
(3) Kevin: "I thought The Ringer was pretty good, though. I mean, didn't you think it had a good message?"
(4) I also thought The Ringer had a good message, but was curious about:
(a) Why were the Special Olympics on TV? and
(b) Why didn't anyone say, "hey, that kid was state champ?"

Shaq's Big Challenge.
(1) The love affair continues. Sigh. I heart Shaq.
(2) I also really love how seemingly unselfconscious these kids are. They are, for lack of a better word, very kidlike. Like, for example, how they really don't seem to realize that all of those video cameras recording their every move might show how they're slacking on their exercise routine. Or eating four slices of pizza in one sitting.

let's hear it for sleep-deprived conversations

a very true conversation, around 4 a.m.

Amy: Can you put the baby back to sleep?
Kevin: Where is he?
Amy: Hmm. He's in the stroller.
Kevin: What?
Amy: Oh. The bassinet.

Note: The baby was asleep.