2004-05-04-9:53 a.m.
stuck vs. unstuck
I dug up dandelions in the backyard and Ro boy busied himself getting stuck in all the holes. I would dig up a flower and throw it in the pile and Ro boy would stand in the hole saying, "stuck, stuck, I stuck." I then had to give the appearance of expending a lot of effort in order to get him out. He'd then apologize (I sorry) to me for getting stuck in the first place. Eventually, it progressed to me holding out sticks to him so he could catch on and be pulled to safety.

Later, in the bath, he was the rescuer who repeatedly rescued a stuck boat with his little front loader or power shovel. I was the boater who apparently didn't understand how to drive a boat at all since I had to be rescued a bazillion times.

Anyhow, Ro boy goes through intense phases of certain behaviors and then they fade away. These stuck scenarios could potentially last for a week or so. One week he was washing his hands like 30 times a day and I started worrying about OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). It's faded though. I hated it at the time because it kills my back to lift him that much, but it was funny too - because he runs around like a little surgeon waving his hands in the air to dry. No towel drying allowed. Another week he was in permanent dog mode with all the barking and licking that entails. It's all just funny and odd.

I don't know where some of these things come from but the stuck scenario originates from a Richard Scary book where an absent minded rabbit wanders into a freshly paved road and gets stuck in the asphalt. He then must be rescued and he apologizes for not paying attention but then later walks off the end of a dock because he's busy trying to walk and read a newspaper at the same time.

bulldozers
Ro boy loves trains and tractors and all types of construction equipment and he really knows what it all is. It's become a routine for me to point out various machines as we drive around town. I say, "Look, Ro there's an excavator/bull dozer/front loader/backhoe, etc." It's taken me awhile to learn all this stuff and I still get it wrong sometimes. Ro boy corrected me for the first time this week. I pointed out a front loader and I hear a little voice pipe up from the back seat, "bulldo". He was right of course.

Baby stuff
I'm at 35 weeks now and we still have no final decision on the name. I feel a bit odd today and it's making me nervous. I keep getting this weird pinching sensation and I had that last time for a few days before the amniotic sac broke. I hope it's not significant. You really don't want to give birth before 37 weeks as the lungs aren't fully mature. I had PROM (premature rupture of membranes) last time and I'm hoping that doesn't happen this time. I'd like to be able to labor and not have a 24 hour deadline held over my head. I found that to be very stressful.

mortgages
We just did our refinance. It was kind of a shock. Our house is worth $10,000 more than what we paid for it 6 months ago. Yay! The refi costs were a lot higher than expected although we don't have to make another payment until July. Boo and yay! Because our house was worth more, we don't owe PMI anymore. Hooray! So, we switched to a 20-year loan, paid all the costs and I expected our payment would be a about $40 a month more since we shortened the term, but it's actually $20 a month less than it was before. Score! I'm feeling pretty chuffed about the whole thing except that our checking account looks pretty sad right now.

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