Normally I would prefer to associate any other word to my first born than "rat" but when it comes to lugging 5-6 items around with her all day, everyday, a rat is the only word I can come up with. Sadie is the world's best Pack Rat. If there was a contest to see who could carry around the most objects without being annoyed, it would be Sades. I struggle every day with her over the number of items she wants to bring in the car, to a play date, to church or even a stroll to the park. When she rides her bike anywhere, Clifford is always in the front basket, while her three ponies adorn the backpack on the inside of her handlebars. She usually has three necklaces on, a ring, and some fashionable clip for the day which usually ends up being a horrific Halloween one she got at preschool.
I don't like carrying anything around with me. I'm chastised for never having my phone, my wallet stays in the car as I put the one credit card in my back pocket. I don't wear any jewelry other than my wedding ring and watch. I always feel like a gypsy when I have too much dangling around me (I'm weird, I know). I try to keep my house as anti-clutter as possible while Sadie hangs every single things she colors on the walls and refrigerator. When I throw her stuff away I have to put it at the bottom of the garbage can or in the bins outside because she has been known to sift through the trash in order to find her "favorite Halloween toy" or the best colored "my little pony" page ever!
I might be getting too into this but this all reminds me of my fourth companion on my mission who also happened to be the biggest challenge I had faced yet. Forget the people slamming doors in my face.
Hermana Hewson was a trial that would surpass all the rejection, door slamming, and being kicked out of apartment buildings. Her red hair matched her tempter and besides the fact that she wore an engagement ring and had a wedding dress hanging in her closet, she was a pack rat to the tenth degree! As her senior companion I tried convincing her that she didn't need to carry around three grocery bags full of stationary, trinkets, and who knows what around her wrists. She also wore bands around her wrists because they were "frail" which probably stemmed from her carrying around three plastic bags around all day. She collected plastic key chains (there were probably about 15-20 of them) and she attached them to the outside of her scripture case which bounced off her hip when she walked. I swear those plastic key chains clinking about gave us away whereas if they were gone, unsuspecting civilians would have actually had to talk to us but were warned before hand of our initial approach. The darn key chains must have given them time to retreat to their homes before we could find them! Darn those Spaniards! In addition to her scripture bag, key chains and plastic bags,
Hermana Hewson also had another bag strapped around her chest that carried her camera, wallet and other pictures of her beloved Pablo who she never ended up marrying anyway.
Maybe it's a scar from the mission or my Dad's hatred towards clutter that has made me who I am but watching Sadie carry around so much stuff bothers me because at the end of the day I'm usually the one who has to carry them all or look for them when she's left them at
someone's house, the car or the the grocery store. I still think it's pretty cute that she's so attached to her little toys but the difference is she is 4 and
Hermana Hewson was 21. Hopefully she'll grow out of it:-)
When I told my Mom we might possibly be moving to Austin this last summer, she immediately told me that she couldn't wait to visit! They came for Thanksgiving and it was so much fun. I love my family. Sadie of course leached onto Grandpa and didn't let go until pried off at the airport when they went back to Utah. It was 6 degrees in Utah when they left and were welcomed with warm upper 60's weather. While we whipped up all of Mom's delicious Thanksgiving recipes, Sadie and Grandpa climbed the tree in our back yard. Only Grandpa would think to do something that fun. I used to climb trees (back when I was 7) but after Chase encountered a possum while jumping the fence, I've steered clear of their domain. I've become quite the wimp. Sadie got a little closer to heaven that afternoon.
Mimi always brings lots of books when she comes to visit. Sadie's favorite thing to do with her Mimi is snuggle up and read some new stories. "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie" was a big hit. This is my first Thanksgiving cooking with Mom and Jane since I got married. For the past three years we always ate at the Todd's with the Cannon clan (we miss that:-). This year, we had so much fun singing to Ella Fitzgerald and enjoying the breeze from the open windows.
The feast was delicious and the Pumpkin Cheesecake, even better. Once our stomachs had settled, we packed up the car and raced to the movie theatre to see Tangled. Sadie now wants to grow her hair out down to her toes. I loved the movie mainly because it was adorable, but because little Jack sat on my lap practically the whole time! It was my turn to be in heaven. Such a little snuggler. I also had Sadie sitting right behind me which is always fun because I can look back and see the magical delight exuding from her little face. She is now a Rapunzel super fan, like every other little girl in that theatre.
That night the temperature dropped like 20 degrees. The next day, although it was sunny, we bundled up in our scarves and hats to go shopping on South Congress street. What fun little shops! They had a candy shop with chocolate covered bacon. Only in the South! They had a whole store dedicated to cowboy boots. Of course we had to buy some pink ones for Sadie. She'll be so surprised Christmas morning. I don't know if I've mentioned that Sadie is obsessed with ponies and cowgirls. She's going to rock those cowboy boots.
After a delicious meal, we went to the Hey Cupcake trailer to get some more deliciousness. Jack threw rocks, we enjoyed the sunshine, and Sadie licked her frosting. Does anyone have a kid that actually eats the cupcake and not just the frosting? I don't think that kid exists.
We headed over to UT campus and Jane thought it would be fun to seek out the Chi Omega house. Dad, who loves to be a pill sometimes insisted on finding the Beta Theta Pie house as well. They must be having a bad couple of years because not only have they been closed up in Utah, but don't even exist in Austin. Poor Dad. I know he doesn't really even care but it's fun to make fun of him anyway. The Chi O house was way nicer than ours at the U. We peeked in the windows and decided that headquarters must like them more than the Utah sisters. Oh well. I bet they didn't have as much fun as we did living in the "four man" down stairs or playing super mario brothers until 4 a.m. You have to be creative when you live in a dump:-)
After a quick stop to a Book People (independent bookstore..a must for the Etheringtons) and Anthropology, a must for Mom, we headed home, put the kids to sleep and went to Harry Potter. Jane stayed home and watched 5 recorded episodes of Americas Next Top Model. I TIVOed them just for her.
