Stopped by a Cop!

Yes, I got pulled over this evening. It was one of those days, really. Bryan was out on a gig that paid only $50 but was something he really *wanted* to do...I took Anna to the allergist this morning and literally the minute I came back, he left me home alone with the kids for the rest of the day (12:45 p.m. until midnight, that comes out to less than $5/hour, indeed).

Anyway, in my effort to refrain from killing my beloved children, I stacked our day chock-full of activities. First, we ate lunch and they colored with markers (always a hit) while I did some work. Then, we went to a local farm and gift shop, where we always like to see Polly the Pig and get a homemade cookie. We bought earrings for our former au pair, who is coming to visit us tomorrow.

We spent the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening in Walden with Lisa and her kids. Her husband was also gone, so I brought over pancake mix (Nature's Path Flax Plus Multigrain Pancake Mix), a box of chicken and apple sausages, and a package of cooked nitrite-free bacon. The kids played and we made dinner (Lisa made fried apples, which were delicious on the pancakes). Lisa had to leave for a meeting at around 6:45, so I stayed alone with all 5 kids until her husband got home just aftter 8. I considered it a very small exchange for being able to spend the afternoon there.

I packed all of our stuff into the van, then loaded each child. Simon wanted to go to sleep. Gabriella cried at first, then settled down. Anna was her usual chatty self. On Stone Castle Road, I passed an unmarked police car going 47 in a 30 mph zone. I knew it immediately and started pulling over before he even had his lights on.

Simon perked up, wanted to know what was going on. I was very calm and told him the police wanted to talk to Mamma but not to worry. We sometimes use "the police" as a threat to get Simon to follow instructions, but he seemed able to tell that we weren't in any trouble. When the policeman got to my window, I was still rifling through the glove compartment for the vehicle's registration, but I had the insurance card all ready. I opened my wallet to give him my license, and he spotted my military ID. Ah, that blessed little card saved me again!

It wasn't a totally wasted stop fo rthe policeman, though; I'm sure he got quite a laugh out of the few minutes he spent with me...my minivan smelled terrible (my fault, I'm not sure what I ate but it wasn't agreeing with me), and Anna (age 5) was saying from the back seat, "but mom, you always drive that fast, sometimes you go even faster! Did you tell him that you usually drive faster?"

Boycott Nestle

Last night, I was on stage during my first concert since having Gabriella. I will admit that this return to the workplace has been the easiest of the three, mostly thanks to Gabriella herself -- she's sleeping well, handling our short separations very well, and generally keeping her mamma at ease...for now.

Anyway, as we were beginning the last portion of the concert, the conductor of the children's choir that was singing with us took the microphone to offer appreciation to people who made the event happen. Part of his announcement was a special thanks to the sponsors who partially underwrote the concert -- Nestle Waters/Poland Spring.

My face got hot and I'm pretty sure the shock I was feeling was obvious. Bryan looked across the band at me and seemed pretty amused, but I wasn't happy. We boycott Nestle products -- and we're serious about it! There I was, on stage, performing for an event that was partially underwritten by Nestle! I can only hope it was just the water they provided, not any money. I can also hope that posting this blog entry somehow cancels out the fact that I had to stay on stage!

If you have any interest in why this produced a knot in my stomach and caused my thoughts to race for the rest of the concert, follow this link.

http://www.babymilkaction.org/pages/boycott.html