The Bloodhound

Blasen says I have the nose of a bloodhound. He jokes that I can smell it before my kids have a dirty diaper. I do think I have a heightened sense of smell. It works against me at times, like when I'm pregnant. I don't know why I have this special "gift." Like I said it works against me, like when someone has BO or with the open sewer system here in China...everything seems extra nasty. So, where is this going? I've had a few experiences, good and bad, with this heightened sense of smell yesterday.
Sundays are quite an eventful day for our family, so much so, that we decided to change that. No, we didn't stop going to church, we just go by a different mode of transportation. We decided to hire a driver to take us, cutting our trip down by more than half the time. It took us 40-45 minutes yesterday to get to church. The sense of smell part comes in when Bliss keeps telling me his tummy hurts and he needs to go to the bathroom. I keep telling him "we're almost there, just hold it." We were literally less than a mile from the church and Bliss turns to me and starts throwing up. Come in sense of smell. I just sit there trying to catch it and not get any on this man's car. Blasen grabs a diaper and tries to use it to catch with and the driver throws us a box of tissue. Remarkably, there was just one little place on the seat and they were vinyl so it wiped clean. The rest was pooled in my lap. Yeah. We have just about 10-15 minutes until church starts and I'm supposed to play the piano. I go into the meeting with puke down my skirt, and Bliss with no shirt on. Needless to say, we had a few weird looks. I clean us up in the bathroom, while Blasen finds an extra shirt for Bliss. I'm soaked and stinky. My shirt remained untouched somehow. So I wash off my skirt and decide to go commando under the skirt...very uncomfortable. No one has taken over my piano duties for me and the meeting should be starting. I run over to the piano and start playing...very stinky. Blasen won't even sit next to me during the meeting. I decide we are leaving after sacrament since the bloodhound sense of smell was really picking up the puke smell.
The good part of the day was that we got two packages. We have a friend that graciously let us use their FPO address at the consulate to send larger packages to. My parents and the Ennis' sent packages. So, enter in heightened sense of smell part II. I just can't wait to get home, not only to take a shower, but to see what goodies we have. I felt like these packages were aid packages air dropped to us. Inside were books, DVDs, and clothes for the kiddos and food for us all.

Jeni...bless her heart...out did herself. She asked if I wanted anything special. I thought of one thing...that relates to my sense of smell...Bath and Body Works Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin lotion. I have used that stuff ever since they originally came out with that Fall line when I was a freshman in college. There is only one scent I like better and that was the Spiced Pear they only made that one year..as far as I know. I buy that stuff every year. Foolishly, I did not bring any with me. I swear that stuff works magic. Jeni even sent me some when I was on my mission in France and Switzerland. I don't think there is anything that calms me so...or brings back so many memories. You see, since my sense of smell is so strong, I tend to relate smells to memories. (Just as my sister Jennie relates what people were wearing to memories. I know...our family is weird...but whose's isn't.) So, I take a shower and lotion up and lay on the bed and relax. I failed to mention that a brownie mix exploded in the package from my parents...so I showered after I cleaned everything in the package. I then relaxed on my bed with a book my mother sent and a box of my favorite White Cheddar Cheez-Its. Yummo.
Bloodhound signing out...