Welcome to the 80's

It feels like 1989 all over again at casa de Phillips. Our computer decided to become ill yesterday afternoon and we had to put it in the ol computer shop (AKA Best Buy). Didn't realize how much I rely on a piece of technology until it was gone. A lot of what I do/need during the day is stored on the hard drive (to do list, phone numbers, email, etc...). Thankfully Tobe brings his laptop home at the end of each work day and I can plug myself back in for a bit and get my technology fix. Hopefully the computer will be back and working in a few days but for now I have to actually call my husband on the phone to ask him a question or find the weather channel on TV to know what the temperature is outside. Barbaric, I tell you.

Because the home computer is not functioning, there will be no Halloween pictures of Isaac for now. However here are few points of interest about our past week.

1. We took Isaac trick or treating on Main Street on Halloween. He rode stoically in his stroller and gripped his pumpkin for dear life. He did enjoy taking out pieces of candy once a store owner placed it in his pumpkin. Tobe and I managed to pull the good candy out (Paydays, Snickers, Rolos, Twix) and leave the less desirable pieces to be sorted (Tootsie Rolls, Suckers, Mints). It was a fun evening and Isaac was the only lion sporting his costume. The amusing part of the evening was how his lion mane kept riding up in the back, thus covering his eyes. I would look down and realize that Isaac couldn't even see what was going on sometimes. However, he never once complained. What a good baby.

2. Wednesday morning Isaac and I boarded a plane for Arkansas to spend some time with my family. Tobe joined us there Thursday evening. Fun times.

3. Fall actually exists in other parts of the country. Fall foliage was quite beautiful in Arkansas and we enjoyed every red, yellow, and orange leaf and the cool temperatures. If you want to see Tobe lose his cool, mention that the local temperatures are going to be in the 80's this week. Does Texas even have seasons anymore?

4. For those Camp WyldeWood campers from back in the day, Tobe was introduced to B Rock. We wanted to enjoy our fall experience so we hiked up B Rock. It was beautiful and the perfect exercise between lunch eaten at a buffet and supper eaten at a buffet. (Don't ask.)

5.Apparently I looked pretty rough at dinner Saturday night. My mom looked at me across the table and said I looked incredibly pale and Tobe confirmed her remark. I attempted to remind them that I AM pale, but they said I was almost completely white. I found this odd since I felt very flushed at the moment. My mom took me to the bathroom (yes, like I was five...but isn't it comforting to have your mom take care of you?) and I splashed some water on myself. The paleness returned to my natural shade of pale and the flush feeling disappeared. However food has become my enemy and nothing sounds good---not even junk food. The things we do for our children. However, this will pass and I often read that morning sickness is a sign of a healthy baby.

6. Airport security. This could be a post within itself. I believe I have blogged about my struggles with traveling with a baby and a stroller before. I also believe I have mentioned that I have had to take Isaac's shoes off to be x-rayed, because most shoe bombers are 15 month old children. When we left the metroplex on Wednesday, I had to declare the food I was carrying in the diaper bag. However, I only had to declare the apple juice and the apple sauce--the bananas and cheerios I had were fine. The lady at security told me it was a good thing I had juice because they would have to pour water out. (I didn't mention it was 3/4 juice and 1/4 water). Fine. When we left Little Rock yesterday, the people at security told me I could only have milk and they would have to pour out the juice (However they reassured me I could purchase more juice once I entered the airport---for $4 a bottle!!!!). These security people told me water or milk were okay, but not juice!!! I pointed out the discrepancy and they said Love Field was wrong. These security people did not care about any other food that was in the diaper bag and I did not have to fill out any type of food declaring what I was bringing on the plane (as I did at Love Field). They dumped out my juice into a trash can and handed the sippy cup back, which still had big drops of liquid inside. Now if I was a terrorist (and you know I fit the profile), what if those trace drops were all I needed to cause havoc? Also, what if I wanted the deadly liquid to explode when it was poured into the measly airport trashcan? I believe these "Measures" our government has attempted to put in place in airports are worthless and provide a false sense of security. If airports in neighboring states can't get the policy correct, what is going on in airports across the country. The ironic thing---also inside of my diaper bag was a plastic bag containing three unusual looking syringes filled with an odd colored lotion. I forgot on the first flight that they were in the diaper bag and did not "declare" them. Not one security person asked about these mysterious syringes and the diaper bag only went through the x-ray once and was not searched. They felt the need to pour out a 15 month olds juice and tell me I could not carry diaper rash cream on the plane, but no one thought twice about these mysterious syringes. Hmmm. What if the contents of those syringes could have been combined to cause major devastation on the plane and security just let them pass right on through (By the way, the syringes hold my morning sickness medicine that I apply directly to my wrists. However, there was no prescription written on them and they were in a simple ziploc bag. ) Also, I predict the Terror Alert Threat Level will go down from orange after elections are over tomorrow. Another thing that makes one say "hmmmm".

7. We had severe storms in our area last night and I thought lightening had struck a tree in the backyard. The storm woke me up around 2am. Shortly after that I saw a huge streak of lightening, a large flash, and heard a loud boom all at the same time. I expected the oak tree in the back yard to come crashing through the window at any moment. My response---to grab onto Tobe as hard as possible. Apparently I am more "flight" than "fight" when it comes to disaster. Fortunately our tree--nor our house--was hit. We aren't sure what was hit, but it was quite close. Isaac did not wake up once during that whole storm. That poor baby was worn out after all his potential terrorist activities were thwarted earlier that day at the airport....

8. If you did not participate in early voting these past few weeks (I did and once again the polling place was out of "I voted" stickers), I encourage you to head out tomorrow and vote. My grandmother plans on voting in peak voting hours tomorrow to enjoy the crowds (she used to work the polls but isn't this year). I won't relay any political feelings here, but I am not very excited about the preliminary results of the Texas race for governor. Get out tomorrow and vote. Enjoy the crowds. Perhaps you will get one of those nifty "I voted" stickers.....

Have a great evening. If you are feeling extremely generous, feel free to drop off a new computer by casa de Phillips so we can return to 2006!