200 Diapers

One day we went to pick up 200 diapers that Zhanar's friend's baby had outgrown. Zhanar's friend lives next to Ikea so after the pick-up we loaded up the stroller with the diapers and headed to Ikea. We made the 10-mile trek through Ikea's labyrinthe, somewhere along the way I changed Dina's diaper, and we headed home. When we went to put Dina in the cab, we discovered that there was poop everywhere. I mean EVERYWHERE: clothing, stroller, arms, maybe even in her hair. A royal mess. The screaming began. Fortunately, I was on a bicycle so I closed Zhanar, poop and screams inside the cab and rode off to meet her at home.

I got home just after Zhanar, and as I rode up in the elevator I pondered how a diaper could possibly be so lousy. I went back through my mind, puzzling which type of diaper I put on her. Was it huggies? No. Pampers? Nope. Mamy Poko? Not that I can recall... hmm. What DID I put on her little bottom? Ding! The elevator opened, and I had an epiphany. No diaper could be that bad, and in fact that's what she had on. When I entered the house, the screaming was no longer coming from Dina.

Talk about a paradigm shift. I went from blaming the diaper to blaming myself. We had another paradigm shift experience a little while back. Some malls offer 'parenting' rooms, but most don't and the best place to change and feed the baby is in the handicapped toilet. However, these toilets are also extremely popular with the pants-suit wearing, afro-permed maroon hair Aunties. One time we were in one of these rooms feeding Dina, and there was a knock on the door. "Just a minute". What else can you say? However the knocker was persistent. Eventually I went outside to apologize to the Auntie and explain that she would have to use the regular bathroom today. This particular young lady actually had no arms and legs. I'm sure that she was also expecting to find a guilty Auntie on the other side of the door as well, because SHE became apologetic when she saw that Zhanar was feeding Dina. Just goes to show you that you should keep your mind open and not enter a situation thinking you know the outcome.

We're back!

Alright, it's been a while since I've made a post. I'll admit. I'm intimidated to post to this blog, since it's supposed to be the "story" blog. It's much easier to just post photos to the photo stream or Dina's blog. And besides we've been busy. Our two most recent adventures have been Thaipusam, a festival in which people stick spikes through their face and carry milk jugs on meat hooks hanging from their backs (photo on right), and leisurely trip to Krabi, Thailand (photo on left). Krabi photos can be found in the March 2006 Arvhives both Dina's blog and the photo stream.