Tuesday, June 2, 2009

we was away, part 2: the other stuff

(Zoralee in the wagon)

As I look through the pictures, I realize the main thing we did besides attend the conference was arrange ourselves around Zoralee to play with her and take pictures. That, and Mom and Heather got haircuts, and we did a little shopping. On Mom's birthday, we sat poolside in the sun, eating bits of fancy chocolates Rachel brought from Portland.

There's a little dive called "Dick's" underneath the freeway across from the Quality Inn where we stayed. They have burgers for 80 cents and homemade milkshakes in a variety of flavors for like $1.60. People with mullets go there, lean over the counter, and say, "Gimme 8 Super Wammies, 2 cheeseburgers, 2 chicken strips, and a Coke." We went there the first evening, before Rachel's plane came in. I thought for sure we would be there every day, on account of the budget pricing. But, we branched out.

The report on Zoralee is that she was a trooper. Naptimes were all kiddiwomped, as we were in a crowd of thousands of people all day. I had my Ergo Baby Carrier sling, which I adore, and Zoralee slept in that three or four times a day as needed. It was nice to lay on the lawn to nurse, smelling the fresh grass. Once though, I threw the same spider away from Zoralee's head three times, but it kept making its way back to her. Mom, Rachel, and Heather each took a spell or two with her outside, so that she didn't have to put up with blaring speakers too much.
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Zoralee was amazing with EC (Elimination Communication) on this trip. It is now officially a pattern - we do best with EC away from home. I think it's because I give her pottytunities more often, or in this case, on a regular schedule that lined up with the conference breaks. She went in the motel potty and the arena potty multiple times a day. In fact, I never changed a poopy diaper all weekend. But speaking of poo...
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Toward the very end of the conference, everybody had gone back inside after a break, and I was on the lawn with Z. There was no one else in sight, so I discreetly took off her diaper to let her tinkle a bit. To my surprise, I heard a noise that indicated Z was doing more than peeing, and to my double surprise, downhill from us about 20 yards appeared a crew of men on their motorized cart, stopping directly in front of us to pick up flecks of garbage. I do say flecks, because this crowd left almost no garbage on the facility lawns. Anyway, they were looking up at us, but I played it cool, holding Z low and tight, with my legs covering her as best I could. Don't mind me, people. I'm just letting my child poop on your lawn. Go about your business. Fortunately, they must not have known, because they continued on their fruitless search for garbage flecks. And once I'd gone, they would've simply thought a mustard packet exploded there. It was just a little bit. Plus, the timed sprinklers were due to come on sometime soon, I'm sure.

4 comments:

Tamie said...

The picture at the very top looks like an album cover. And I LOVE the one of Z drinking from a bottle right off the table.

Rachel @ Lautaret Bohemiet said...

The poohing on the lawn story just gets funnier and funnier and funnier. Of course they didn't know what she was doing, because WHO WOULD EVER IN A MILLION YEARS GUESS THAT A TINY LITTLE BABY IS POOPING BARE-ASS ON THE LAWN? Not many folks know that such a miracle is possible.

That's right.

Charndra at Part Time Diaper Free said...

Hi Lori,

EC away from home IS so easy - less distractions of the mundane sort, baby close by, I love it too.

Charndra

Unknown said...

Poor Zoralee is going to be SO embarrassed when she's a teenager and reads this blog!