Jenny is AMAZING!!!
This trip has been fantastic but also exhausting, and we have only had these kids for 28 hours. Yesterday was crazy - I haven't changed a diaper since I was ten (I changed a diaper or two for my darling sister Sarah who is now 31 and probably thrilled to have me refer to her being in diapers). Apparently things have changed since then - when Sarah was a kid all you had to do after you took the diaper off was put her in the bathtub and swoosh her around.
Now you actually have to lift them up and use these little Windex fresh wipes or whatever and then wipe them off and apply proper ointments (I love the word 'ointment' and I almost never get to say it - same with the word 'lousy') and then let them air dry and then nurture them and focus on how this affects their self-esteem. Like I said - exhausting!
Fortunately, famous Enterprise Rental Car spokesmodel Jenny Hodges decided to come to China and save our lives. On about 100 occasions I have been sitting here with one kid or another and I would need something urgently. Almost immediately she would be there with a burp cloth or a new bottle or a frosty cold Budweiser. And if you know Kim, you know that she is amazing at so many things (volleyball, selling pharmaceuticals, telling me how many things I have to do differently now that we have twins) (1,209) but she has about as much experience with one-year old babies as I do (none).
So it would have been catastrophic if we had to do this on our own ("How many scoops of formula for each bottle?" "I don't know, two? No wait, I think it's nineteen" "Well, which is it?" "I don't know. Figure it out yourself. I am trying to figure out what these nipple brushes are for" "What do I do if she has snot running down her face?" "I don't know - wipe it off?" "Oh, good idea. I hadn't thought of that.")
Now you actually have to lift them up and use these little Windex fresh wipes or whatever and then wipe them off and apply proper ointments (I love the word 'ointment' and I almost never get to say it - same with the word 'lousy') and then let them air dry and then nurture them and focus on how this affects their self-esteem. Like I said - exhausting!
Fortunately, famous Enterprise Rental Car spokesmodel Jenny Hodges decided to come to China and save our lives. On about 100 occasions I have been sitting here with one kid or another and I would need something urgently. Almost immediately she would be there with a burp cloth or a new bottle or a frosty cold Budweiser. And if you know Kim, you know that she is amazing at so many things (volleyball, selling pharmaceuticals, telling me how many things I have to do differently now that we have twins) (1,209) but she has about as much experience with one-year old babies as I do (none).
So it would have been catastrophic if we had to do this on our own ("How many scoops of formula for each bottle?" "I don't know, two? No wait, I think it's nineteen" "Well, which is it?" "I don't know. Figure it out yourself. I am trying to figure out what these nipple brushes are for" "What do I do if she has snot running down her face?" "I don't know - wipe it off?" "Oh, good idea. I hadn't thought of that.")
Yesterday we had to go to about 8 different places (Civil Affairs Office, Notary, Police Station, Inspector General's office, Bureau of Land Management, Department of Ensuring that there are no less than 100 young women to work in every shop and scream 'Pretty Scarf for Lady' at you very loudly), and Kim and I had to carry these new youngsters.
So Jenny became our pack mule, carrying our diapers, camcorder, gifts for the various officials, sunscreen, toys for the babies, fresh water for the parents, two baby carriers, pickaxe, etc. Below is a video of Jenny singing an old prospectors song and being hilarious. Unfortunately you won't be able to really enjoy the video because Kim insists on videoing lengthwise, which is clearly not ideal for the viewer.
We are so appreciative of Jenny's assistance and guidance and advice and if we are half as good at being a parent as she is, it will be an absolute miracle.
Anyway, she has been amazing and we would be in such deep doo-doo without her. So please enjoy the following photo of Jenny with both of our two little girlies. Oh wait, there aren't any. Sorry. I just realized that she has been working so hard that she hasn't had time to get any photos. We will fix that just as soon as she finishes washing the nipples (thankfully, we figured out what the brushes are for. And just in time, too)
Since we don't have a picture of her with the girls, please enjoy this one of Jenny and Kim at dinner on Jenny's first night in China. This was before we made her lug all of our crap.
