Monday, July 21, 2008

Back in one piece

We had planned to return home on Saturday because my brother was scheduled to ship out to Fort Leonard Wood at 1:00 a.m. Saturday morning. Late Friday, the Army changed his departure time to 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning. My grandparents headed back to Houston as planned on Saturday morning. But my parents, Brooklyn, and I ended up staying another day.

We didn't do a whole lot on Saturday. Jordan was released on his pass that morning and just hung out with us all day. He and my dad went to see a movie and my mom, Brooklyn and I went to the salon so I could get a much-needed haircut. The last time I had one was when I was 7 or 8 months pregnant! Anyways, I had about 5 or 6 inches cut off. It looks better and is much lighter and cooler in the 100 degree heat.

When we took Jordan back to Fort Sill on Saturday night, we were sitting around outside the barracks with him until he had to go inside. This other soldier's wife was sitting near us and had a baby girl in her lap.

"How old is your baby?," she asked me.

"Four months," I replied. "Yours?"

"Seven months." HOLY CRAP. This baby's thigh was at least as big as Brooklyn's waist. I know babies are like the rest of us...they come in all shapes and sizes, but whoa!!!

"How much does she weigh?," the girl inquired.

"10 pounds. What about her?"

"35 pounds." OMG!!!

Now, I'm not one to criticize other people's parenting methods. After all, I'm new to this too. But then the little girl started spitting up something brown. Her dad said, "That's because you gave her that whole damn bottle of Dr. Pepper!" as he pointed at an empty 20 ounce soda bottle sitting next to a sippy cup. Poor kid. All things considered, I think it is probably better for Brooklyn to have weight gain problems than to be in the shape that baby girl was in. Maybe some people just don't know any better.

Eventually the time came for us to tell Jordan goodbye. It was kinda tough. I hated seeing he and my mom cry :( But his AIT school is only 7 weeks long, and he will be home for 2 weeks after that. I think the next goodbye will be harder, because he will be leaving for his permanent duty station, wherever that may be.

Brooklyn did pretty well on the ride home. I was very impressed with her for the entire trip...she slept through the night all 4 nights we were there! I am very thankful for that!

We stopped for lunch in Denton, where I went to college. It has only been 4 years since I graduated, and I was getting sooooooo lost trying to direct my dad to one of my favorite restaurants there. We finally found it and it was no longer Bari's, it was now called Fera's. And they were closed on Sundays. All that for nothing!

We didn't get back to my house until 9:30 at night and I still had to do laundry and some unpacking. Hubby was at work and had left the house quite messy. I got frustrated while cleaning up behind him. He was off for 3 damn days, but uses his off days as play time and doesn't get anything done around the house that needs to be done. Grrrrr. So needless to say, I am a zombie at work today. And I have waaaay too much to get done here. Blah.

Our trip was good, though. I'm glad we went.

9 comments:

MrsSpock said...

Whoa...giving a Dr Pepper to a 7 month old? Not a parenting choice I would make...

momofonefornow said...

My 4 and a half year old weighs 47 pounds. That is crazy!!!!!

Anth said...

Giving Dr Pepper to a 7 month old???? Can she say, Childhood obesity?! Oh my gosh. That is horrible. It would not even OCCUR to me to give that to my infant. I hardly ever even let my 2-year-old drink JUICE.

Sometimes, it's okay to judge. Like this: Giving Dr Pepper to a baby is a BAD IDEA. Ha ha Geesh!

edie & ella said...

I bet crazy Dr Pepper lady has trouble getting her little one to sleep huh -- with all that caffeine. That poor baby.
Glad your trip went well -- did your dad behave? Sam

Trooper Thorn said...

The Dr. Pepper was probably necessary to wash down the jalapeƱo poppers they gave the baby at the Sonic drive through. Yeah, that's right; I've been to Lawton.

Give your husband a list of clear directions and expectations. We perform best when treated like contractors.

Sarah said...

I'm with you on the Dr. Pepper judgment...poor little baby! Glad you both made it home safely! And next time you go away for the weekend, leave DH a "Honey Do List". LOL!

Unknown said...

yeah, dr.pepper to a 7 month old is just crazy. Honestly, I don't even give my almost 2 year old any pop, candy, etc. and she weighs only around 22-23 lbs. That's very strange they'd do that.

Sam said...

When I lived in Virginia I had a coworker that gave her baby Dr. Pepper in a bottle at less than one year old. She was a military wife, too. Of course I was married to a Navy guy at the same time, but for some reason I preferred breast milk and formula for my baby. Go figure!

Liz said...

OH MY GOSH!!!!!! Dr. Pepper for a baby????!!! That's insane!!

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