Putting it all in perspective...

I took the boys to the mall today. I'm not a big fan of malls really - too much time spent there in my suburban youth, I suppose - but a trip there was necessary as I had to go to Eyemasters to pick up my new frames....purchased as the J-Man fell on my head two days ago and busted my previous pair (the day after I mentioned to A that "after Mr. T gets out of this pulling my glasses off phase I think I will need a new pair of glasses"...how very prophetic).

Anyway, I normally take the boys places where they are, well, contained - library story time, Kroger/Target (confined to the buggy), a mom's house for playgroup. I try to avoid the closest mall as, well, for one thing our mall is not in the best part of Nashville, and plus the mall represents to me one big open area where a moment's distraction could cause me to lose my child forever. Overprotective much? Anyway, there were big talks to J-Man about not wandering off, and staying with mommy, and stressing on my part of make sure J-Man and Mr. T would be appropriately occupied for the 10 minutes we would spend in Eyemasters.

No child was lost, and I didn't owe anything in damaged merchandise at Eyemasters. The boys were generally well behaved. And then I read this on Laura's blog, which put it all in perspective.

A trip to the mall pales in comparison to traveling miles on foot in a conflicted country with your life on your back.

The future is plastics...

So, check the previous post, but after reading about polycarbonate and bottles/sippies I got increasing sick to my stomache. Unfortunately most of our bottles are polycarbonate, and Mr. T is about weaned off the bottle. We have about three Gerber ones (the color ones) that are OK. Luckily, the First Years Take N' Toss cups (checked for recycle code 5) are OK, and we use them the most, and we have several other types that are fine. I am awaiting an email from Gerber (we have several) and Nuby (we had two, now one). Sickening. But what can you do when the evil and all-powerful plastics industry invades? We'll get rid of the bad plastics but we can't undo the damage - if any (it's a study and who knows, but you take precautions when you can).

Out-of-Control Parental Guilt

Oh, the guilt. A friend on my playgroup messageboard clued me in to toxic plastic, discussed here and here.

I'm off to toss some bottles and sippy cups now.

To And From Dixieland

To And From Dixieland, originally uploaded by TNEmily.

Just got back yesterday from two nights in Chattanooga.

About twenty miles west of Chattanooga we remembered why we don't often go - we hit a NASTY traffic jam. When I say nasty, I mean hundreds of cars turning around, and a line going backwards down the interstate to backtrack to the median and go west again. It was awful. And the boys were restless.

Due to this delay we did not hit the Tennessee Aquarium that afternoon as we wanted. Instead, we checked into the hotel, met A's parents at the hotel (they were returning from Alabama and hitting Chattanooga at the same time by sheer coincidence), took the boys to the pool, and ate a restaurant called Fireside for dinner (food was alright, but restaurant was not kid-friendly). We also hit Walmart since we added an extra night onto our plans due to the delay, and therefore needed more stuff, like baby food.

The next morning we hit the Aquarium. A and I had not been in several years so it was a lot of fun; however, having been to the Georgia Aquarium last year, I think Georgia has Tennessee beat in this case. Everything, including the IMAX, is housed in one building at the GA, while at the TA there are three separate buildings - the 'River Journey', the 'Ocean Journey', and the IMAX. During a hot, humid Southern day, this definitely makes a difference.

We actually went through the original building - 'River Journey' - twice. The first time was to breeze through before A and Jackson went to the IMAX (which scared Jackson), so after that we had to go back through to catch what they missed. The boys had a great time. Jackson got to pet a snake, which he LOVED, and both boys really loved looking at the fish.

After all this, we were really worn out and Tucker was sorely due a nap, so we went back to the hotel for some downtime. That evening we hit the Incline Railway - not far from our hotel - which scared the pants off A and I but Jackson loved.

The next day we hit the Tennessee Valley Railway for their one hour trainride, the Missionary Ridge Local. Billed as a "bite-size" ride, we crossed over several bridges and went through a tunnel built in the 1850's using slave labor. Before the age of dynamite, the tunnel was apparently very dangerous to build. We actually rode in a Jim Crow car, which made for an interesting bit of Southern history. Aside from the historical stuff, Jackson really just loved riding the train. The train stopped at the East Chattanooga Depot, where we saw several other trains - including the one pictured - and saw a turntable literally turn our engine around.

After that, we headed home - exhausted (I won't get into the fact that both boys stayed up until 10pm both nights).

How to Make Your Laundry Smell Like the Elephant Area at the Zoo

I do NOT recommend washing - and then drying - a Huggies Pull-Up.

Walking Boot!

So A took me to the orthopedist today - while we were waiting, we chanted "Boot...Boot...Boot".

And so it happened that the orthopedist saw fit to put me in a walking boot vs. a cast. YAY!

I still cannot put full weight on my left leg, but at least I can put weight on my leg. I'm trying to get used to walking again with TWO legs, with the aid of my crutches. I hope to be down to one crutch at the end of the week. I also see a physical therapist Friday, so hopefully that will help me further.

Thanks to all those who expressed their "Get Well" wishes in my blog post of about 3 weeks ago. I really appreciated everyone's thoughts.

I've been especially appreciative, though, of family at this time. My cousin came all the way from northern Alabama to spend four nights with us (five days) - she played so well with Jack and brought loads of food; my mother-in-law has stayed often and been a tremendous help; my mom has come on Fridays, her day off, to haul me to the doctor or wherever else we needed to go. And my poor husband - so much has been on him these past three weeks. Hopefully I'll be back to 100% soon - I'm definitely getting there. Thank goodness for family.