2005-03-09 - 9:11 p.m.

So there I was, complaining about the boredom of the daily repetitive nature of living with an-almost-2-year-old.... Today, I decided to take her on the adventure of a lifetime. Well, I didn't so much DECIDE, as, well, it sort of just happened.

First of, my parents both came over for baby-sitting this morning, since my poor mom had carpel-tunnel surgery and would be unable to change diapers and the like (not that my dad had to have his arm twisted or anything). The post-adoption class today was interesting and didn't make me feel like a horrible mother. I came home to a sleeping Dumpling, so we waited til her nap was over, fed her lunch and took my mom to the Kosher Bakery to buy white bread (don't ask, it's too long to explain).

We then drove the 15-minute drive to the suburbs, over a bridge, to take my mom home. Of course, the Dumpling had a complete melt-down when we dropped off her beloved Mamie and didn't go into her house (we had to get back so I could go to work and hubby could take an itchy Lucy to the vet).

Now, picture this: screaming Dumpling, pissed off at not going into grandma's house, driving on the service road of the highway from Suburbia, just about to get onto the bridge, bump, that's a mighty pot-hole we hit. We live in Canada, it's the middle of winter, potholes are a matter of everyday life. Unless they are big enough to swallow your car, you drive slowly and keep going. So I drove for a few hundred feet, nothing doing, kept going..... Except the minute I got onto the bridge (ie there is nowhere to go, nowhere to pull off), I felt the tire go from a cirle to a square.... bumpty-bump, bumpty-bump..... I put on my flashers and slowed down, thinking I would be able to make it across the bridge, but the minute I got to the highest point, I realized, there was no way my car was going to make it across....

Called 911, got transfered to the police, told to pull over as far to the right as possible and keep moving slowly until a police car was positioned behind me.... For 15 minutes, I sat on the highest point of the bridge, green from vertigo, trying to keep the Dumpling from freaking out while keeping an eye in the rearview mirror for any oncoming trucks. Eventually, the nice people at bridge traffic-control closed the right lane with the overhead signals so I didn't have to worry about the trucks anymore and I felt secure enough to dig through the bakery bags with one hand to russle up a bun for the Dumpling to munch on. After 3 hours (15 minutes in real time, 3 hours in my head), the cop car was behind me and we just had to wait another few minutes for the tow truck.

The towtruck driver then informed me that the Dumpling and I would have to ride with him in the tow truck, meaning we had to.... WALK ON THE BRIDGE to get to the cab of his truck.... holy mother of crap! I had to wiggle her out of the car seat and he helpfully held my hand as I WALKED ON THE BRIDGE the 30 feet to his truck.

But let me tell you, the ride, in the tow truck, was the highlight of the Dumpling's life. First off, he fed her pretzels and chocolate and cookies and Coke. (shut up, I was totally freaked out about the tire and the bridge, so anything to keep her quiet). Then, she got to sit on the front seat with a grown-up seatbelt. And he went over every pothole on purpose to make her jump up and down.... Forget 6 Flags, take your kids on tow-truck rides!

The ride of a lifetime was followed by an hour at the tire shop. Fortunately for us, not too many customers in the middle of the afternoon, she had the run of the showroom, where she proceeded to knock down the display tires and sit in them like the Michelin baby. They even took her to the back and blew her hair with the hair hose!

Of course, by the time we got home 3 and a half hours after leaving for the Bakery, mommy wanted a stiff drink and Dumpling needed a nap, big time, but nothing like a tire-blow out to break out of the boredom!!!

I'd like to end this post with a totally unrelated note. Funniest thing I heard on TV in a long time:
janice dickenson, asking a ANTM constestant where she is from and getting the answer *Minnesota*, says "Oh, I was in rehab there once"... Baahhhhh! (Oh, and shut up, you know you watch it too, in secret!)

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2005-03-08 - 12:30 p.m.

A fellow blogger/mom/ladybug squisher, Amercian Family wrote a very funny and truthful post about the sacred cow of motherhood.

I didn't have a lot of advice/assvice from anyone about being a mother, as very few people around me had kids before I did. Sure, there were my outlaws, but we don't *share*. And I have a few friends with kiddies already, but they live plane-rides away (salut Caro!). So everything I knew about motherhood I learned from blogs! Thankfully, the women I chose to read were of the *tell-it-like-it-is* variety and since I tended to read mostly about adoption, I knew lots about the dark side of motherhood, the side that is mostely hidden to the world.

But I totally agree with AmericanFamily (this is weird, I know her name, but I don't know if it's public, so I won't put it), that I wasn't prepared for the boredom. The day to day repetition of the SAME FREAKING DVD, the same tea-party, the same farm-animal puzzle.... I understand that children learn by repetition and I love seing how she learns more and more dance moves every time she watches The Wiggles, but seriously, it's boring the life out of me!!!!

It's not like I'm Miss Impulsive, with a variety of activities and tons of excitement in my day-to-day activities, but the amount of repetition involved in Dumpling Entertainment is just beyond anything I could have imagined.

On the other hand, as she rapidely appraoches the 2 year-mark (March 21), it's amazing to me to watch the little things she's learning and picking up on a daily basis. Watching her put the moves together for the Pony song almost make The Wiggles watchable. And seing her make friends with her new Sonya Lee doll is just mezmerizing. So I guess I'll take the boredom!

PS: I highly recommend the Sonya Lee doll if you have a Chinese daughter. First of all, it's cute as a button, and it's a larger version of the Little People girl that comes with the pet shop. The DVD is just adorable and Dumpling totally *got it* that this doll looks like her. Maybe she's just at that age now, but it's the first asian doll that she has any interest in.

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