RIP Baby Einstein Exersaucer

So, as you may have noticed in the Christmas photos (pretend there is a link here to photos of Christmas since I never actually posted them) , Susanna got a wonderful little (or, large) toy (or, extra piece of living room furniture) called an "exersaucer". If you haven't seen one of these modern miracles saving parents' sanity and freeing their hands up across the globe, it's basically like a big donut with 360 degree toys. Insert baby into donut hole and seat on wheels keeps baby spinning and entertaining herself for at least 20 minutes while you pee or cook or throw in a load of laundry or collapse in a sleep deprived heap listening to "moooo," "cow," "vaca*" followed by an upbeat, classy version of "Old McDonald Had a Farm" 50 times. (If you no habla espanol, "vaca" means "cow" in Spanish).
Uncle Matt is a particularly big fan of this baby invention.

So, one chilly morning in January or February, I was sitting on the couch folding laundry while Jon and I chatted before he left for work. If you look above Matt's back you can see my reed diffuser on top of the speaker where it belongs, and exactly where it was when I looked over at it that morning. However, something was different. There was only one little reed sticking out the top and there was no oil left in the bottom. The exer-furniture is usually garaged right there next to the speaker, below the diffuser full of oil. Can you see where this is going?

Time out for those who don't know what a reed diffuser is: You will be pleased to know that there is actually an apparently non-profit site entitled reeddiffusers.org where you can find answers to burning questions like "What is a reed diffuser and how does it work?"

So anyway, I ask Jon "What happened to my reed diffuser?" He gave me a look like he could have benefited from a trip to reeddiffusers.org at that time. After I explained about the oil and reeds that were supposed to be in there, I walked across the room to find a very shiny floor littered with reeds and a very smelly exersaucer donut. Turns out, he suddenly recalled perhaps knocking it over at 4:30 a.m. when he stumbled to turn out the light and head to bed to snore me awake. Apparently, he had the mindset to put it back where it belonged, but not to clean up the oil slick left behind.

I gave it a good go to put the seat cover and dragon puppet toy through my Maytag, but alas, the scent of Cinnamon and Spice was still overpowering. Makes sense, since "Fragrance Diffuser oils are oils that have been designed for maximum wicking and optimum fragrance dispersion" (reeddiffusers.org). We ultimately decided that we didn't feel comfortable with Susanna mouthing even the plastic parts of the exersaucer that had been soaking in not-for-cooking oil for four hours, and said goodbye to our lifesaver. Fortunately, Mommy found another brand new- in-box Exersaucer on craigslist for $50 (yes, that is a bargain price. People pay up to $130 for these things). Think she likes it?


Daddy bought Mommy a new reed diffuser too - aww. And my floor still smells like Cinnamon. But it looks like brand new in that spot!

Does anyone else find it funny that one of the FAQ on reeddiffusers.org, just between "Can I dilute Fragrance oil with water to make a diffuser blend?" (No) and "Why can't I just re-use my sticks over and over again?" (because then no one could make money on selling you more) is "How does your sense of smell operate?"???




I know you were waiting for it...

A: Your nose has at least 350 different odorant receptor proteins. These receptor proteins detect the scents in the air by combining in different combinations to identify scents entering the nose. The coded signals then transfer from the nose to the olfactory bulb in the brain. From the olfactory bulb, the signals transfer to the cortex where they are mapped as "odor perceptions". They are stored there throughout your lifetime. This is how a certain scent will remind you of a certain place or a time in your life.