Best. Purchase. Ever.

Our portable dvd player is, hands down, the best thing we've ever purchased.

I had borrowed a friend's player three times last year for trips to west Texas when it was just me and Clara. That is one long drive with a little one in the backseat that you can't entertain. So it was definitely a lifesaver on those trips. Once she's older I really want to encourage coloring, reading or playing games on trips, but until then, this works wonders. After borrowing the thing three times, we felt it would be best to buy our own so that our friends didn't kick us to the curb for being moochers.

I've been renting Academy Award winning movies for best picture through netflix lately. So far I've seen Million Dollar Baby (cried my eyes out; didn't know it was a sad movie), Annie Hall, and Gone With the Wind. When The English Patient came a few days ago, I knew I'd be watching that one alone. (I've now seen all of them from 1994 to present. Got any recommendations for some older best picture winners?) I've told Chris numerous times to get online and pick some he'd like. Finally, after all of these that have come lately, he finally took the time to pick some he might enjoy. Especially once he saw that Terms of Endearment was the next movie in the queue.

Since I hadn't shaved my legs in, oh several weeks probably, I decided to watch The English Patient while taking a bubble bath. It was a lovely time indeed. After my bath, me and my smooth legs got snuggled into bed and we finished our movie, (or at least most of it). That's one long movie.

I mentioned several weeks ago that I brought the player into the bathroom for Clara when she was sick so that I could get showered. That was nice too. And it was a lifesaver at the oral surgeon's office the day Chris got his teeth pulled. I had brought it "just in case" and I'm glad I did since I ended up spending the entire time on the phone getting approved for credit twice. And when we went to recovery to be with Chris, it kept her occupied and not crawling all over her daddy who was trying to come out of sedation. I like the dvd player. It's like our second child.

Is it an essential piece of equipment for someone with small children? Of course not. Not much is in my opinion. But it sure is nice for those times you have a whiney, cranky kid that just won't sit still and you reallllly need to get something done without losing your mind. Too bad taking it to church would be in extremely bad taste, although I have seen 9 or 10 year old boys playing with their portable gaming systems during church. I just want to go rip 'em out of their hands and tell them they can have it after class, ya know what I mean? Hmmm, that was off topic.