The other day I was entertaining Carly in order to stretch her to 2 hours between eating. Its a rather exhausting task. She has a large bin full of toys, and my 2-hour-gap quest often requires an emptying of the bin to hold her attention away from eating long enough. Anyway, as I dug through the bin to find something new and fabulous to show her, I came across two monkeys. Their story is a hilarious one, so I thought "I should blog about that". So here it goes.
My sophomore year of high school I bought a little stuffed monkey from the dollar store. I thought it was cute and it had Velcro on its hands, so I hung it off the seat of my car (do I sound 16 or what?). This monkey, named Monk (I know, I'm so clever at naming things. Must have to do with the 6 bunnies I've had named Bunny), spent many years with me in my high school car(s) and then made the trip to BYU with me. He even survived my high-speed rollover off I-15. Then I got married and he came too, experiencing each new phase of life as it came. I was undoubtedly emotionally attached to Monk. My first married Christmas we left to see family and Monk came along. When we got back to Provo and I was unpacking, I couldn't find Monk anywhere. I searched everywhere. Went back down to the underground parking lot and retraced my steps. But he was gone. I figured he must have fallen out of my backpack at the airport. I was so sad. A little too sad, probably, but Monk and I had gone through a lot together! Anyway, a little while later, Chris and I found another monkey that looked a lot like Monk. His name was Monk Jr., and he came home with us.
Then 4 or 5 months pass. Chris and I are walking to our apartment from the underground parking lot and there, in the landscaped rocks, lay Monk. He appeared to be in a pile of rotting trash that was in a rotting garbage bag. But he was still alive! I ran upstairs to grab a grocery bag, then ran back to rescue Monk. He soaked in several different types of soap for several days. Chris was terrified that he had become home to a nest of spiders, but the soaking proved him wrong. Monk was missing an eye, and was a little worn down, but looked great! I couldn't believe that he was just laying there after all those months! Isn't that so bizarre, yet so amazing? So Monk and Monk Jr became fast friends, and now they help me postpone my child's meals.
Monk Jr, Carly, and Monk
In other news, I recently got Carly a Bumbo off Craigslist. Next-to-new and 1/3 the price is the way I like to go, especially when it comes to baby things that my baby may or may not enjoy. I came home with it and immediately sprayed it down with anti-bacterial spray just in case it was infected with the swine flu, then rinsed it in the bath tub. So far, she seems mostly confused by it. But she is coming to enjoy it too. But of course, about 17 hours after I picked it up, my mother-in-law texted us saying she got Carly a new Bumbo and would bring it down this weekend. We promptly called her to tell her the news so she could get her money back . . . and suggested some diapers may be an appropriate gift instead.
And finally, I don't what it is, but we have been experiencing a ladybug invasion in the C House. I find them everywhere. Its very strange, as ladybugs are not usually bugs you find in the house. Of course I would take ladybugs any day over a roach (which make me scream rather loudly), and I usually pick them up and take them outside, though I did rinse one down the sink when I was doing dishes and felt really guilty about it.
Ladybug exploring Chris's slacks.
Its easy to say "I'm grateful for this" and "I'm grateful for that". But I think Carly's arrival has taught me true gratitude. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for all my blessings up to this point (including Chris), but there is something about this girl that has changed my every perspective on life. This child's very existence has taught me a gratitude so deep I didn't know it existed. We are so incredibly lucky to have her, and every day I look at her flawless face and question why she was sent to me. As if I wasn't before, I am even more indebted to my Heavenly Father for blessing us with our Carly. More than words can express, this Thanksgiving I am extra grateful.
On Halloween we went to a fun dinner party held by some friends in the ward. Then we headed out to another party held by some friends from Chris's program. They recently moved to a new house and Knoxville is really good at ridiculous streets that aren't properly labeled, so we drove around for over an hour on a dark rainy Halloween night trying to find it. While it was rather fitting, it wasn't that much fun. We finally found it and surprisingly Carly put on a really cute front, which was lucky because both Chris and I were in rather sour moods. It turned out fine though and we made it back home in about 10 minutes (go figure).
