Just the two of us

M & I are going on vacation this week. Just. The. Two. Of. Us. We are dropping the kids at my parents and going because we really need to spend some time alone together (the 8 hour plane ride to Utah ought to help) and we haven't been away from A since he was born (19 months people!) and I've forgotten how to talk to him if the kids aren't around or about any subject other than the kids, house, plumbing, work.

This vacation will be vastly different though, because our previous vacations have almost always include a sun-drenched island, minimal clothing and lots of sunscreen. This year we're going to Park City to go skiing - me for the very first time ever! I hear we'll still need the sunscreen, but the clothing is far from minimal. We've got parkas, gloves and long underwear but will have to get ski pants and socks and hats when we get to Utah because such items are just not readily available in Florida. And, to be honest, I'm dead nervous about learning to ski. I spend a good deal of time worrying about what would happen around here if I were to get sick or break something, and here I am preparing to pack my body into insulated clothing and hurl myself down a snow-covered mountain (or hill, as the case may be). I am signed up for lessons (the Adult Never-Ever Class), of course. Because you want to be taught how to hurl yourself properly.

Of course, before I can get on that plane and relax, I've got the 48 Hours of Hell in front of me as I attempt to pack two weeks worth of errands, chores, laundry and packing into the next two days.

Florida's finest

We are in the middle of the Florida winter produce bonanza wherein we get to enjoy all the delicious treats that our northern friends won't get until summertime. The strawberries, tomatoes, oranges, peppers, and corn on the cob have never been better! And all locally grown! We had the sweetest, freshest corn on the cob last night - crisp and wonderful. You don't even need butter when the corn is this fresh. It was delicious and corn is not my favorite vegetable by a long shot. And for dessert? Homemade strawberry ice cream - out of this world. My freezer is full of bags of strawberries to get us through the long hot summer.

Of course we pay in spades for this brief bounty because come May we'll get little if any locally grown produce until next winter.

M & I are trying to decide if we should put in a small vegetable garden. He loves to garden and has a pretty good green thumb, but I just don't know - I'm mainly afraid of attracting rats and other vermin. But I'd love some homegrown tomatoes this summer and growing them yourself is the only way to get really good ones. Otherwise the ones that survive transport here are usually so mealy and tasteless.

Anyway, we'll be out and about enjoying the cool temps and sunshine predicted for this weekend. It's especially timely because this is our parish festival weekend and it's always more fun when it's cool out.

Have a great weekend!

Something to look forward to...

Have you seen the trailer for the new Indiana Jones movie? It looks great!!! I love all the Indiana Jones movies so I'm sure I won't be disappointed. It looks like one of those things you'd want to see in IMAX.

In other news, still feeling Awful. Dang loratadine is taking it's sweet time working itself out of my system. I know it's still kicking around in here because I'm allergy-free this morning and there is pollen everywhere -- all over the windows, porch, car. I am feeling sick enough to call the doctor, but they can't see me until May!! Hopefully my allergies and the medicinal side effects will have cleared up by then.

Weekend recap

What a roller coaster of a weekend! First, the weather was picture perfect - cool mornings, warm (but not hot or humid) days. We took the kids to a beach cafe for brunch and to play in the sand yesterday -- the water is too cold to swim just yet -- and it was absolutely super.

Not so wonderful were my allergies. With the exception of our trip to the beach, where there are no oak trees hence, no allergies, I spent the weekend alternately sneezing and medicating. So far this allergy season I've tried Benadryl, psuedophed, some Mucinex and finally the loratadine. But, to put it mildly, the OTC allergy medicine I was so psyched about last week viciously turned on me during the weekend. To sum up:

Allergies: cause moderate discomfort, congestion, scratchy throat, itchy eyes, sneezing
Relief: stay inside house or car, run a/c, keep dust at minimum, keep Kleenex handy, wash face often, drink lots of water

Allergy medicines: cause drowsiness, dizziness, dehydration, mild fever, muscle/joint pain and severe tummy "trouble"
Relief: don't take it!!!

I spent most of Friday night and Saturday completely out of it. By Sunday I had rallied, but by the time we got home from the beach, ran a couple of errands and had dinner I was done in again. I finally googled my symptoms and "loratadine" and was not amused to read that I should by calling my health care professional immediately for some of the side effects I was experiencing. I think I will just put up with the allergies! At least having to wash my face, drink water and keep a Kleenex in my pocket are relatively mild inconveniences and opposed to needing to lie down every 20 minutes and then having to run for a bathroom every time I eat or drink.

The beach was lovely though.

Better living through science

I'm not big on medications except for the occasional Aleve or two. I get every horrible side effect that a drug can produce, ones that usually outweigh the original symptom. But, every spring, I'm hit with horrible hay fever for the 30-or-so days that the Live Oaks pollinate. I don't even have to be outside. If I see a live oak with its huge clusters of yellowish pollen I'll immediately start sneezing, itching, tearing up, etc. Anyway. This year is the first time in the last three pollen seasons that I've not been prego or nursing so I decided to take a little Benadryl to help me through the day. Wrong! After three days of taking one measly Benadryl per day I was completely stricken for 24 hours yesterday. It wrecked my stomach, gave me a fever(!), palpitations, dizziness, extreme drowsiness (fun with two kids!) and joint aches and pains. We thought it might be the flu, but I stopped taking the Bendaryl and bam! all side effects gone. However, all the allergy symptoms have come back, so I consulted with my friendly neighborhood pharmacist and now I'm trying some OTC loratidine, aka Claritin. It doesn't work quite as quickly as Benadryl did, but I don't feel like I'm dying either. Yay OTC scientific breakthroughs!

And don't think for a minute I'm exaggerating about the dying. M took one look at me when he got home last night and VOLUNTARILY stepped in to handle bath & bed time for the kiddos. I have to be really bad off for that to happen. I only recall three other times, actually. And two of them were before A was born. So, I was able to sleep for two whole blessed hours and then rallied to catch American Idol and most of Lost. I still can't believe that during what was probably the most interesting, mind-blowing and revealing episode of Lost ever, I managed to fall asleep for the last 7 minutes. Thank goodness for TiVo.

Dear Mr. Winter

I love you! I love cold weather (hey, 43 is cold for Florida); I love my cozy sweaters; I love my new parka; I love hearing the radiators hissing away; I love actually needing my flannel pjs; I even love a little wind chill. BUT, do you think you could've waited until the weekend to make an appearance? When we all could have had a nice little sleep-in, then wake up lazily and have hot coffee/cocoa and pancakes in our pajamas?

Instead you choose TODAY, when:
1) I've been up since 3:00 a.m. with a weird little fever and undefined aches & pains - I've imagined I've had everything from meningitis to toxic shock syndrome - AND....
2) I had to get up at 5:00 since M was flying out early AND....
3) That means I have to walk the dog myself, in the cold, and the really strong winds, with poor little A bundled up in his measly assortment of winter gear AND...
4) I had planned to be outside this afternoon, since this month's Daisy meeting is an outdoor activity. Which means, between the cold and wind I am going to have a flare up of my winter exzcema.

Boo. Come back and play on Saturday!

A cookie is a sometime treat...

7:00 Update: I was kinda kidding earlier about the MommyKarma thing, but really I may never leave the house again. I just spent the last hour and a half cleaning up A, his high chair, and the kids' bathroom after the worst case of exploding poo I've ever seen. Why do these things happen at dinnertime? Anyway, I'm down to 3 pb cups and one caramel roll. And M & I don't even want to think about our dinner. I may need a drink instead.
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3:30 Update: When I posted this morning I forgot to post WHY I've eaten most of my batches of pb cups and caramel rolls this morning. Basically, last night Sister Debbie took me out for a wonderful, belated birthday dinner. And this morning I had a hair appt. at 10:00. I guess I used up all my MommyKarma by scheduling two nice, relaxing kid-free events within 24 hours of each other because A was up at 3:30 this morning and now D is running a fever and is complaining of aches, pains and a sore throat. Oh, and don't forget the tree. Because I haven't. There are huge chunks of it lying everywhere. So that is why I've had 6 pb cups and almost a whole pan of caramel rolls today - it goes without saying that one of my weight problems is consolation eating.

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...but not peanut butter cups or homemade sticky caramel rolls. I made both this past week and both are almost gone. Happy, happy Saturday. On an unhappier note, we had another giant - like 30ft - tree limb come down last night. It's lying (laid? lain?) across our front walk until the tree guys can come chop it off. We're calling ourselves the "Near Misses" since it's the second humongous limb that's come down that's barely missed damaging the house. If our cycle holds true, something horrible will happen to the dog next. (Knock wood.)

Pass the nutmeg

You know how you have that one recipe that calls for some semi-obscure ingredient that you never remember you already own so you always buy more? Like ground cardamom or marjoram or whatever? Well my ingredient is ground nutmeg and I pretty much only use it in my pumpkin-cream cheese roll that I make for Thanksgiving. I always mean to remember I have some for next year, but of course I always forget so I have about 8 damn bottles of the stuff, all of which I couldn't throw out when we moved so I packed them up right next to the 7-year-old bottle of fennel seeds, the McCormick tin of whole cloves that my beloved grandmother gave me to me when she moved to a retirement community (they must be at least 15 years old, since she's been In Heaven with Jesus for 12 years - but there is no way I can toss them), and the jar of celery seed that isn't even open. Waste not, want not right? So every thing I've made recently has gotten a little dash of nutmeg on the way into the oven, pot, microwave. However, I learned the hard way (is there any other?) that you can't mix it with your kids' cinnamon-sugar and try to pass it off as "spice toast." It also doesn't blend well with the aggressively pre-packaged taste of Eggos, our go-to breakfast on the mornings that we are running behind and need something that can be consumed quickly.

If you have any good recipes calling for scads of ground nutmeg, please send 'em my way. And someone please remind me next Fall that I DO NOT NEED any more.

Feelin' groovy

I may be on the wrong path here, but I believe that indoctrinating introducing the children to classic rock n' roll, 80s hits, New Wave and even the occasional foray into folk, blues and clean punk music is much better for them than letting them "discover" rap, hip-hop or (gulp) Hannah Montana all on their own. So that is why my 5 year old can belt out Talking Heads, Squeeze (she looooves Cool for Cats) and Simon & Garfunkel songs. I can't think of any reason why she'd ever watch Hannah Montana, Lizzy McSuckFest or any the other dreck on Nick or Disney. I'm sure as she gets older and starts spending time at her friends' houses she'll encounter such things, but for now, she doesn't even know they exist. It's also why I'm such a fan of hosting playdates at our house. A bit of a mess to clean up is nothing compared to the peace of mind I have knowing what my kids are doing, saying, eating, watching. The more the merrier, actually, since having friends over means less time for me sitting on the floor playing MailBox or Garage or Bunny TeaParty. I'll take any excuse for down time to blog, clean or cook...

which leads me to my latest Naptime Foray into the Kitchen... Easy Peanut Butter Cups from the March issue of Everyday Food. I will have to hide these from myself or I'll end up eating the whole batch. Give them a try if you want an easy sweet treat.

Blast from the past

So maybe this weekend you saw some of the news coverage of Kosovo's historic vote for independence. Maybe you asked yourself why this was so important. Maybe you wondered what all the fuss was about. Maybe you've never heard of Kosovo before. Well, I hadn't heard much either before my bro-in-law was stationed there as part of the international peacekeeping force helping the area after the war. Then in February 2005, M was selected by his law firm to work in Kosovo as part of a joint UN-USAID-NCSC project to help develop and implement Rule of Law for their emerging country, in anticipation of one day declaring their independence. M spent several months there and then, because these things always take longer than expected, and I was tired of being stuck in Florida with a 2 year old and no husband, in the summer of 2005 D & I packed up our suitcases and went to live in Pristina, Kosovo for almost 2 months while M worked with the people at NCSC. It was an absolutely amazing experience, complete with homesickness, language barriers, visits to Albanian pediatricians and lots of Balkan-style exploring. I will never, ever forget living there. We are so happy for all the Kosovars and other internationals that we met, got to know and spent time with while we were there. I hope that things can remain peaceful for them throughout this transition.

Here's a picture of D on one of our first mornings in Pristina looking out of our back door to the fields and mountains behind our apartment building:








And here's another of the street leading away from our neighborhood, Sunny Hill (not-so-Sunny in this pic though):







Here's a picture from the medieval city of Prizren of the road leading to the city Center:







Besides Kosovo, we also visited Greece, Slovenia, Macedonia and Hungary. Here's a link way back to the beginning of my blog, which I started in honor of this journey. (Scroll down the page to get to the first posts, pre-trip.) If you have time, take a look!

Feeling the love

M surprised me for Valentine's Day yesterday by both remembering before I did (rare!) AND bringing home a beautiful present, complete with box of chocolates! He got me a pair of really lovely pajamas - I love them and can't wait until tonight when it will be a tad bit warmer and I can wear them.

Today the kids and I are joining some friends for our Third Annual Trip to the Florida State Fair. It's been a tradition since D was 3 and I'm so glad we can continue for at least one more year with the older kids (A might get a few more chances -- at least til he's in school full time). The fair is awesome, the rides, the 4-H exhibits and my favorite part - Strawberry Shortcakes made with Plant City Strawberries. Everyone thinks Florida is all about oranges, but our delicious winter strawberries are our secret weapon. They are so good they even have their own festival.

Have a great safe weekend! See you on the giant slide!

Clean sweep

Our cleaning lady comes today. Back in my working mom days, we had weekly service because it was a total stress reliever for me to have one less thing to worry about. It was one of the little luxuries that we gave up a while back though. But now with a much bigger home, and especially one that was left in the condition that this one was, M has agreed to let someone come in to help with the hard stuff (like mopping 3000 sq ft of hardwood floors) once a month. However, my house is never so clean as right before the cleaning lady comes. I'm a freak about picking up all the junk, cleaning the kitchen counters, etc. The first time Nadia came (last month) I even went so far as to clean the bathrooms the day before. To M's amusement. This time, I successfully avoided the compulsion to vacuum last night -- or scrub the toilets -- but you can bet the playrooms look neat as a pin.

Sister Debbie is coming over this afternoon to hang out and have dinner with us. It's especially nice because M's been out of town for two days and the lack of adult conversation is beginning to get to me. Anyway, I'm making french onion soup, salmon, roasted asparagus and orzo. Yummmmm. And did I mention the meringue with roasted pears for dessert? I'm attempting the recipe that Jamie Oliver used on his show this past Saturday. Without the chocolate sauce, since I am bitterly doing without gave it up for Lent. And by the way, if you're NOT watching his new show, Jamie's Kitchen, you really should because it is both entertaining and really "doable" for a cooking show. Plus his house and garden? AWESOME. I wish I had that kind of land. Oh wait, I do. I just hate gardening.

39 days to go

Woke up this morning with a splitting headache, upset stomach, vague feeling of anxiety. Classic withdrawal symptoms. I am now 24 whole hours into my Lenten sacrifice: No Chocolate. I shall be tried and tested. Or maybe just testy, given the little argument I managed to pick with M at 8:30 this morning. Anyway. I had my usual Diet Coke this afternoon and it felt mighty strange not to have a little piece of something sweet to go along with it. Now I'm not expecting a Religious Epiphany, Spiritual Clarity or any kind of Divine Enlightenment. And maybe my "sacrifice" will end up being a little self-serving if I end up losing weight. But I like the idea of a Lenten sacrifice anyway. And I sure don't mind a few weeks of meatless Fridays aka, Breakfast for Dinner.

And there's always Vanilla.

Cuppa joe

I did something yesterday afternoon that I've never done before -- had a cuppa coffee about 4:00 pm. I was desperate. D had the day off from school, I had a JL puppet show in the morning, A only took a 45 minute nap: it all conspired to drive me into the welcoming and loving arms of Caffeine while I was cooking dinner. Result? I was up until 1:00 a.m. watching DVR'd episodes of What Not to Wear. Now I'm paying cause I'm BEAT, but have a really busy day of busy work and busy-ness and busy stuff ahead of me. So I'll probably end up drinking some coffee again this afternoon and isn't that how cycles of addiction start?

In other news, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and I'm trying to figure out how I can get to Mass with A. I'm also contemplating what my Lenten sacrifice should be and if it should be something that impacts the whole family or just an individual thing. I haven't done any food-related sacrifices for a few years now what with pregnancy and nursing and baby-related issues, but this might be a good year for it. In terms of both a meaningful sacrifice AND good for my waistline, which is totally nonexistent at the moment. We'll see.

Full house

We are finally getting a chance to break our house in - both sets of grandparents are here for Grandparent's Day at D's school. My in-laws are actually staying all week so we'll see how we manage with two more people under the roof! So far, so good though and it's wonderful to have a place for people to sleep instead of having to have everyone schlep off to a hotel at the end of the day.

My mom was talking to D yesterday about where in the house she spends the most time (the playroom). For me it was the kitchen. For A it was wherever I am. But for Daddy, when asked where he spends the most time, she replied "work." Hmm. But it's true, at least during the week. He's here in the morning but rarely home for dinner and most of the time he gets in just before her bedtime. So I guess it seems like he's never here. I do wish he had time to eat dinner with us during the week -- everyone says how important family dinner time is -- but I just don't see it happening. And given how stressful dinner can be I can't say I blame him.

I am truly, truly blessed to have a husband who helps provide such a wonderful life for his family though. And, while the kids may not spend much time with him during the week, I get him all to myself!

Please, no

These are A's two favorite words right now. I'm not wild about the "no" thing, but at least he's being polite about it, right? It's also becoming the refrain for my days, as in "Please. God. No." because I highly suspect he's trying to give up his nap. He's been down to just one for a few months now, but he's fighting the one he has left tooth and nail and I am half-dreading the sheer exhaustion of trying to keep up with (and keep happy) an active little 18-month old all day long. I don't whether it's his age or mine, but I'm just tired, TIRED all the time. There are some pros and cons, of course. PRO: I won't have to worry about rushing him home from activities so he can nap. CON: we'll all have to survive on quick dinners until he can learn to play by himself for more than 3.5 seconds. PRO: We can go to the park to play and have a picnic lunch. CON: No more quiet mornings baking, crafting, blogging or catching up on mail. PRO: A good excuse to put off the housework. CON: You know what happens when you put off the housework.

Oh well. It was bound to happen sometime. At least he still goes to bed by 6:30.

Adaptation

We don't like change much here. Really. M is loathe to change anything, ever. D is OK with change unless she is personally affected, for example if you insist she were to change into jeans instead of wearing shorts to the park because it was only 50 outside. A is a toddler he's been in a constant state of change for his whole life. And me? I don't mind change in itself, but I dislike chaos and indecision and not feeling like things are set up, so I tend to make stuff worse for everyone because one change begets another in mind and so suddenly we haven't just moved into a new house but also, in the first few weeks, gotten all new appliances, a new TV (see previous blog entries), invited not one but both sets of parents to visit simultaneously next week and have begun to compose a list as long as my arm of the "small" projects I'd like done in the next 6 months. I'd prefer to have them done in the next 6 days, but because of the "antichange" reasons listed above, I know not to push my luck.

But we are all starting to get used to the house and it's new (to us) creaks and groans and quirks. M has even started using the dishwasher, which he didn't want to do for the first week or so (he really hates change) and so I would load everyone else's stuff and he would handwash his plate and utensils. Fizzy is also getting used to the house and last night, for the first time, she crept upstairs and slept in the hall outside D's door. So the following exchange is based on that:

6:45 a.m.
Me: Wake up, D! Time for school!
D: (Incoherent mumbling)
Me: Guess who was sleeping outside your door this morning?
D: Ummm, Santa?
Me: Noooo. Think furrier.
D: Daddy?
Me: (Choking back laughter) Wha..?! Do you think Daddy is furry? No, think four legs.
D: Are you laughing at me? Was it a chipmunk?
Me: Ok. No. Think something furry with four legs that belongs in the house.
D: Oh. I don't know.
Me: (A bit exasperated) It was Fizzy!
D: Is today a school day?

The rest of the morning was a bit like that too.

Day off

Today is a day for peace and reflection. Also a day off from school, so I don't anticipate much of either but so be it. I'm sure Dr. King would appreciate the thought anyway.

M & I watched "Blood Diamond" (one of my "Must See" movies) this weekend on the new big-ass TV. Yes I know it came out in 2006 and yes it has been on my list all this time. It was an awesome movie and very thought-provoking. Many years ago, my bro-in-law and I had a really interesting conversation about conflict diamonds and the world market's role in perpetuating the demand for them and the ruthless tactics used by the govts. and companies (specifically DeBeers) involved in mining them. Even more heinous are the absolutely disgusting marketing tactics that they use to convince us to buy their goods. I've never bought into the whole "three months of salary" guideline for diamonds because I just don't get the idea of a dollar amount or price tag being placed on love. I'm pretty sure that M loves me more than three months salary and I'm much more moved by the history behind my ring. Even worse diamond marketing were those horrible ads with the couple walking along in some piazza (I think we're supposed to think they're in Europe) and she is getting all embarrassed over something he's saying like "I love this woman" UNTIL he presents her with the Big Ring and then she gets all gushy and affectionate. Don't even get me started on the more recent "journey" necklaces which I truly DO NOT understand at all. I guess they're pretty necklaces, but the commercials are ludicrous and I think it's weird to market what should be a very personal piece of jewelry. But don't get me wrong, I like jewelry as much as the next girl, but it's the marketing and commercialism that get me. And, if we were to ever buy a piece of diamond jewelry, I would want to make sure that it was NOT a conflict diamond and that the company that we get it from did not support the trade of such.

OK, so that's my Monday Morning Rant. Go see the movie if you haven't yet.

Time out

Well, barring emergencies, we are officially done fixing up the house. Everything got resolved on Wednesday - our boilers, the toilet (clogged for reasons that I really won't go into here), EVERYTHING. Yesterday was my first tradesperson-free day since we moved in. Also, we're unpacked, the laundry is all caught up and we've got plenty o' food in the house. Hurray! Downtime! I hung up some pictures and have started to do the layout for the family pictures that will go in the upstairs hallway. Today I'm going on a serious all-out hunt for my cardreader for the camera. I've got great before-after pics of the kitchen, the kids and I want to get pics of the living room before our new TV gets installed on Saturday.

It's great to finally be "living" in the house.

One thing AND the other

Misery loves company around here. To recap: remember the toilet that needed replacing? Well we managed to convince the warranty company that they should pay for it. So we thought - thought - that we were done with house repairs for awhile. M & I even (foolishly) talked about how we were going to stop doing stuff and focus on "fun things." And then we bought one of those ginormous HD TVs this weekend. And then today? The damn antique gas/heat/furnace thingy goes out on us. And of course we're in the middle of a Florida winter cold snap and it's gonna be in the 40s tonight and the high tomorrow is only like 61. Brrrrrr. So we'll have to call the warranty company again and get a gas/heat/furnace person out here.

And to top it off, A took a header off a packing box this afternoon and smashed headfirst into the hardwood floor. (He was trying to imitate D jumping off.) His sweet little forehead immediately swelled to the size of a golfball and so I rushed him to the pediatrician where we found out it was not a piece of broken skull (like I thought) but a hematoma - scary looking, but not usually serious. So we have to keep an eye on him for a few days and supposedly the blood will eventually drain and may make him look like he has a black eye. Poor baby.

Hopefully tomorrow will be less eventful.

Pay it forward

Let's play Pay it Forward!

Basically, someone posts something on their blog they are willing to give away to three other people and, if you are one of those people, you agree to do the same.

I was catching up on my blogroll and found this fun concept at Kim's. I'm getting a tube of homemade lipbalm from her. So, in turn, I am going to give a delicious batch of homemade cracker candy to the first three people to email me at tandmj@mac.com or leave your email in comments so I can contact you. So if you want to play put on your thinking caps- I'm sure you've got a lot to give!

Oh @$%@@$!

Great. Now I have to tell M that we need a new toilet in the master bath. In addition to being utter slobs, The Previous Owners were apparently careless enough to drop something large and immovable (is that a word?) down the potty. Crap. Literally. And toilet replacement? Not covered by our home warranty. At least not right now. We'll see after my attorney has a little talk with them. At least we have two other bathrooms we can use.

Have a great weekend!

Appliance love

All of the appliances are here and installed after an absolute whirlwind yesterday culminating in the delivery of the washing machine at 7:00 pm. Right in the middle of bath/bed time natch. They are all beautiful and work perfectly. The only one that gave any trouble was the range, and that's mostly because the gas inlet pipe is in a weird place under the house and couldn't be moved. So we have a bit of space behind it. M calls it a gap. I call it ventilation.

Anyway, I'm laundering my first HE load right now. The new machine is a lot quieter than any other washer I've ever heard, but the noises it does make are new to me. It's spinning like a top though and is advanced enough to sense if it is unbalanced or overloaded (apparently humans can't be trusted to make those judgement calls). It also has all these codes that will display to let you know how it's doing, if it needs anything, etc. If only kids were that easy. But the thing I love the most about it is the "F__" (or F##) code that means you're supposed to call Sears immediately. As in "f'ed" up? Those Kenmore guys have a sense of humor! Of course, it also means that the machine will fit in perfectly with some of the more potty-mouthed members of the family.

Today was supposed to be the end of the whirlwind, but we had some plumbing issues this morning (speaking of pottys) so the plumbers will be here tomorrow. THEN we'll be done. Except for the rest of the unpacking and we have a hard deadline for that since we're getting ready for both sets of parents to visit at the end of the month. Whew.

Always something...

Here's the schedule for today:

9:00 - Electricians here to install new 220 line for Dual-Fuel range. They've been here for over an hour already so I'm thinking they encountered a problem related to installing a new 220 line in a house that is over 80 years old.

11:00 - Tree service here to fertilize/inject huge old oak tree dying slowly in the front yard. (This is the one that dropped the limb on the roof our second night in the new house.)

Noon - Dishwasher install

3:00 - Gas installation for new dryer and range. (At this point we should be cooking. With gas.)

3:15 - 5:15 - Sears to deliver new washing machine, haul away all other appliances.

Whew!

Tomorrow the pest control service will come to treat the house. And Fizz gets her sutures out. I can't wait to get back to a normal routine of chasing after the kids, cleaning, doing laundry and cooking meals. This whole moving business is crazy!

Delivery day

Today's the day! Hooray! The appliances come today! It's been over a week since I've done laundry; a month since I cooked a meal in an oven. Unfortunately, since the delivery is scheduled for the latter part of the day, we had to schedule all the installations for tomorrow (or even later, in the case of the dishwasher) so we won't be cooking or washing today... but soon! I'm so tired of take out; I can't wait to cook a real meal. Unfortunately, because of the kids, it won't be anything gourmet but more along the lines of spaghetti & meatballs or perhaps Shake n' Bake pork chops. As for me, even more than cooking and laundering, I'm looking forward to dispensing my first glass of delicious, cold, filtered ice water from my brand spankin' new fridge.

So... if I owe you a thank you from Christmas... please forgive me for my tardiness. I'll get to them as soon as this last move-in hurdle is cleared.

Enchanted

Did you have the chance to take your daughter (or other special kid) to see Enchanted? It's a very charming movie. Did your little girl become insanely besotted with the characters, resulting in 24/7 role play from the movie? Yeah, ours too. Oh wait, you thought I was talking about the princess, didn't you? Nah. Darling D is all about the chipmunk. Then we had to go and tell her about Alvin, Simon & Theodore.

One lucky dog

Fize has again beaten the odds... her tumor wasn't cancerous! Hurrah! She'll go on to live a full and happy doggy life. We are all so happy and thankful.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Resolutions

I'm not one for resolutions. I hate the feeling that I haven't accomplished something when I can't remember why I wanted to accomplish it in the first place. Which, given the general level of chaos here, can happen in 24 hours let alone an entire year. So usually I don't do resolutions.

But I will, this year, make a Lifetime Resolution. Here in Blogworld for all to see. So, here it is:

I will NEVER EVER EVER buy another house without 1) having it professionally cleaned from top to bottom before we move in and 2) treated for fleas, even if previous owners had never owned any pets. These will be my conditions for any future real estate transactions.

Why am I making this a lifelong resolution? Because, suckers that we are, we took the previous owners word that they had had the place cleaned and that their doggy had "never" had fleas. Sadly, we did not verify this before closing. So we got our dream house. Beautiful. Unique. Huge. Clean? Not so much. Maybe because it was vacant so long and showed so many times and, yes, I know people track all kinds of shit into houses and I'm sure the movers didn't always wipe their feet. There are many explanations for why it looks like a frat house on the wrong end of a weekend. But either the previous owners have early onset dementia and didn't notice little things, like that you can identify the last 4 months of meals that they ate by analyzing the drippings on the stove and oven. Or that the toilet is basically a toilet-shaped tower of bacteria. Or that something is up with the drain in the master bath because it's not normal to have to flush twice. Or why their feet/socks were mysteriously black after walking through the house. Really. Or maybe they too were ripped off by whomever it was that was supposed to have been cleaning it. Anyway, we got the short and grimy end of the stick. I'm proud to say that I've finally got the year's worth of drips, drops, dust and crap off the kitchen counters though. Thank you Clorox. I love me some bleach. After I feel we are properly disinfected I'll resume my usual routine with gentler Method products though.

As for the fleas, I couldn't get our service out here until next Thursday so I'll just keep vacuuming to keep them at bay and focus on coordinating the delivery of the new appliances. Which is getting tricky because M is involved and, as every woman knows, nothing mucks up the smooth running of a kitchen like a loving, well-intentioned husband.

Now that I think of it that might be the reason the house is such a wreck. I can just imagine her hubby saying "Honey, you've got enough to do with the move. I'll take care of the cleaning!" Oy.

A pause

Ah morning. Thank you morning. We made it through the night. Thank you, big house, for giving a tired mommy the space to have a quiet cuppa joe, diddle around on the computer, have a quick bowl of cereal and not wake up everyone.

Poor A has had a rough time adjusting to a new house, sleeping in his own room and the excitement of being 17 months old. I think he's only slept through the night twice since we moved in. Last night, we had a rare blustery winter storm blow through and the noise of the wind woke him up around 11:30 (just as I had turned out the light!) and kept him up until about 3:00. M & I were also awake discussing various parenting techniques: how to handle a child that cries for attention, wakes up all night long, and is clearly in the throes of the Terrible Twos. (DISCLAIMER: D, we now realize, was and still is a completely ABNORMALLY calm, composed, laid-back and self-sufficient child with an incredible attention span and no need for histrionics. Also, I was still working full-time when she was 17 months old and therefore had limited exposure to any "childish" behaviour. So in a sense I am a "first time parent" when it comes to dealing with this phase.)

It's going to be a real winter day here in Florida - the high is only supposed to be in the 40s! Yay! So I'm planning on bundling the kiddos up in their winter gear and heading out to a park (if it is sunny) or a long walk along the water (if not).

Up this week on This Old House:
1) Preparing for the appliance delivery next Tuesday
2) Laundry room cleanup
3) The hunt for cereal bowls and placemats continues
4) Pest control
5) Trying to determine if we need to run a new 220v box for the new range

Exciting stuff. Have I mentioned before how much I LOVE the new appliances? We went with Kenmore for everything because I like Sears' customer service, their repairs (if you need them) and my mom grew up with either the Sears kids or the Roebucks kids (I forget which). The new fridge is going to be particularly wonderful. I have to have an ice and water dispenser (what can I say? I like my water cold!) and this one has that, plus a handy tilt-out bin on the fridge door so that D can quickly grab a juice box or healthy snack on her own. I love it!

The part leading up to the part where we get all new working appliances? Not so great. The previous owners left the house pretty grimy, so who knows what lurks behind the stove, washer, etc. Plus we need an electrician and two sets of installers since we're getting a gas range and dryer. It's a bit confusing and time consuming but will be SO worth it in the end.

Happy New Year!

After such a tumultuous and emotional weekend, we had a very quiet New Year's Eve spent at home with the kiddos and, thankfully, Fize. I was actually in bed by 10:00 trying to fight off a mini-migraine. M was nice enough to give me a kiss at midnight, but I was unfortunately pretty out of it. I owe him one for sure!

Fize continues to improve. She has sutures/staples which come out in two weeks, but they don't appear to be bothering her. Sunday and Monday she was very out of it and just wanted to lie on her bed. Today she actually perked up when the kids were playing and came to sit under A's chair while he was eating (she knows a free handout when she sees one). It's great to see her picking up her old habits. She's on pain meds until next Sunday, so it keeps her pretty mellow. Hopefully we'll get good news back from the biopsy by the end of the week!

Today we took our traditional family New Year's Day outing to the zoo. We had a great time and the animals were very active with the cool, cloudy weather. Then we came home, I made a big stirfry and we had chocolate fondue for dessert. I'll post pictures as soon as I've found my card reader for the camera because a 17-month-old eating chocolate fondue is something you have to see to believe.

Hope you had a safe and happy New Year's Eve/Day too!

Recovery

Fize came through her surgery with flying colors! The vet even said she was trying to eat and was eager to get outside this morning. If she continues to improve then we can pick her up on Monday. Yay!! We are all so relieved. Now we just need to wait to see what type of tumor it is -- results in about a week. Unfortunately, the vet says 2/3 of the time these are a very malignant strain and often you only get a 3-6 month life expectancy. We're hoping we're in the other third. Fize has always beaten the odds.

In unrelated news, our washing machine joined the appliance casualty list prompting M & I to go into an appliance buying frenzy. We bought a new dishwasher, range, fridge, washer & dryer in just under three hours. I'm particularly enamored of the washer, which is one of the newfangled, high-efficiency, no-agitator types. Rumor has it you can wash a king sized comforter in there. We will see. We have to wait until January 8 for installation so I may have to find a laundry service in the meantime. Or wash our unmentionables by (gulp!) hand. Or maybe I'll just buy some new undies for everyone and call it a day. How I wish I was caught up on the laundry before this happened!

Prayers for Fize

Fize is having an emergency splenectomy (sp?) tonight -- they found a massive tumor growing in her spleen. They are operating as I write and we are all just praying and hoping that the tumor hasn't spread to any other organs and that she comes through surgery well. Our little family just wouldn't be the same....

We love you Fize!

Diversions

Laundry, cleaning, unpacking? Nah. It can wait thanks to Libby -- she turned me on to this! My first score was 248 seconds, 73% and a 47 mile error margin. Maybe I should take more time and be more accurate? (That's what M would say.)

And now for something completely different...

A post where I don't whine about the kids, the chaos, the general disorder of our lives!

We had a very merry Christmas at my mom & dad's house and the kids were enchanted by the tree, the presents and (for A) the piles of perfectly good paper and boxes that no one cared that he was playing with! True to form, neither M nor I took any pictures, relying solely on my sister's friend Paparrazi Kari to get some great shots of us all.

Christmas Day we had a delicious brunch at my parents and then opened our family gifts. My sister and mom and dad went overboard in a wonderful way and as usual I was blown away by not only the gifts but the awesome wrapping and presentation job. Sister J really has a knack for that kind of thing, a gene that the rest of us are sadly lacking as my gift wrapping is on par with your average kindergartener. After gifts, we spent a few hours at my brother's house playing with their kids and enjoying some of my s-i-l's delicious food -- her talent is putting together a spread. not to mention decorating and entertaining, in the midst of serious chaos.

D & A both got amazing gifts and Santa brought D a Webkinz (her most requested item) and the minute they woke up this morning they wanted everything set up. A got lots of vehicle-related gifts and has been patiently (for him) waiting for me to unpack!

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas as well and are filled with the peace and joy of this season.

Not a creature was stirring...

OK, so it's not quite Christmas Eve yet, but the kids are still all nervous that Santa will put them on the naughty list at the last moment. Especially poor D who wants a Webkinz so much she can't help but ask about it every 10 minutes.

Anyway, everyone has quieted down nicely except for moi, who is rushing around doing last minute laundry for our trip tomorrow. And I still have to wrap gifts, pack, and somehow hide the "Santa" stuff in the van so the kids don't see it.

A very Merry Christmas to you all!!

Whoops

So yesterday I fell down the stairs. Literally. From about six risers up. I think I broke my big toe, which got caught under me in the slide. Plus I banged up my ankle pretty well too. I'll be wearing Crocs for Christmas for sure -- they're the only things I can get my foot into.

I hope I can serve as an example -- or at the very least a warning -- to my children, who witnessed all or part of the mishap.

Luckily, because I'm on like 3000 mg of Motrin a day to help with the pain from my new crown -- did I mention I had to get a crown yesterday? -- the pain in my foot is not as bad as it could/should be.

I'm not unpacking a thing until after Christmas.

Get cookin'!

Since the range in our new house seems to be in the crapper, we're limited to two small burners until the new one arrives. This has resulted in some creative attempts at meals and a HELL of a lot of take-out.

However, I have found my new favorite snack: Cape Cod potato chips & vanilla sugar wafer cookies! Yumm! And I'm not even pregnant!

Tally

In the last 24 hours:

Tree limb removal = $2000
Pediatrician visit = $25
Antibiotics & cough meds for sick baby = $25
Trip to target for home org. stuff, more meds for baby = $200
DVR service for watching fave Food Network shows at 3 a.m. with sick baby = $7/month
One sleepless night = $20 (Motrin, Diet Coke, Peppermint Mocha latte from Starbucks, concealer and major makeup)
Watching the kids play happily and quietly in their rooms = Priceless

M comes home late tonight. I hope he got some rest last night!

Bah! Humbug!

I'm feeling a little Scrooge-y today. What with the unpacking that I didn't get around to, the washing machine that sounds like a 747 landing in the kitchen, that yesterday we were running our a/c and today I've had the heat going full blast all day, A starting up with the Terrible Twos AND a massive, nasty head/sinus cold, and then to top it off M had to be out of town tonight for work. Kinda puts the damper on my Christmas spirit.

I need to get my gratitude on though. That at least all the appliances kinda-sorta work, even if they are old. That our massive laurel oak in the front yard didn't cause any damage when it dropped a limb on the roof our second night here, and that our wonderful Tree Guy, Duane, will be able to fix the problem tomorrow (even though it is going to cost us a FORTUNE -- a fortune I wish I could've spent on, sayyyyyyy, new flooring or shoes or just about anything but tree trimming.) That we have such a beautiful house and that, now, when A is crying and coughing all night he only wakes us up... and not his poor sister. That M has a great job at a great family friendly law firm (two things that don't usually go together) and that he has taken on the burden of providing for us without complaint or anger.

OK... That is a lot to be thankful for. God has provided for us! What more could I ask for this Christmas?

Note to self

N.B.: Next time we move (AS IF!) provide more specific details on the moving boxes about contents therein. Example: Instead of "Fragile! Glassware!" put "Mini souffle cups, sugar/creamer, champagne flutes." Three boxes of random "Fragile! Glassware!" it has taken me to locate coffee cups. I haven't run into regular drinking glasses yet. Nor have I found among the "Kitchen" boxes anything resembling cereal bowls or placemats, two essentials around here. So we've been using the souffle cups as cereal bowls and folded up newsprint for placemats. I thought we'd have to drink coffee from the sugar bowl if the coffee mugs hadn't turned up today.

Other than that, I unpacked my clothes. Yippee.

Home sweet home

We're in, the Internet and cable are hooked up and we're getting settled. I've unpacked the kids and about 1/3 of the kitchen. Our bedroom is a disaster area, but I have located clean undies, so that's all I really care about.

We need, in no particular order: baby gates for the stairs; many, many, many more outlet plugs; more lamps; a new TV for downstairs; a maid. We don't need any additional cabinet/storage space. We finally have enough room for everything and everyone. It's a great feeling.

There's a wicked cold front coming, so we'll find out if our ancient radiator system works. But at least we won't need a/c for a few days and it'll really help to get us in the Christmas spirit. The downside? We have no rugs yet, so our tootsies are gonna freeze!

Have a nice weekend! Anyone want to help me unpack?

Go Gators!

Who needs the BCS?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/ncaa/12/08/heisman.ap/index.html

Go Gators!

Packin' it in

Two days until Moving Day. Four until the close. I'm not sure which deadline is scarier.

Yesterday I got the kids clothes packed - A's took up a huge duffel, D's a large suitcase. All of her dresses are in there, which sparked a wardrobe meltdown this morning. Finally she unearthed a pair of purple cord shorts that were in her "hotel" bag. The child will not wear anything but pink or purple.

We're mostly done with the hard packing. Now it's just a matter of stuffing what's left into whatever containers we have left. At the end, aren't there always some loose items that just get chucked into the car? That's how we've always moved. It's even harder this time because we aren't moving very far - just a mile or two - so it doesn't seem like you should have to wrap n' pack very carefully.

We'll be disassembling the computer tomorrow night, so the next time I post, we'll be moved!

Hurray!

6 days to go

I'm opting not to pack a thing today and to do a spot of cleaning instead. The house is starting to get a bit funky -- I think it's been at least 2 weeks since I cleaned anything.

Tonight is D's school Christmas Concert. After the concert M & I are going to take her out for a light supper or maybe ice-cream - just the three of us. We got a sitter for A on the grounds that 1) he'd never sit through a Christmas Concert and 2) D needs some quality time with us. She had a choice between two dresses: a straight, mid-calf, red velvet one and a rose-colored, sparkly, twirly tulle number. Guess which she picked? I'll post a picture later.

Moving on - one week to close!

One week from today M & I will be on our way to the title company to close on the house. It's amazing and scary all at once - we're so used to our little bungalow (and little mortgage) and now, as my sister Debbie put it, "we're all grown up." Yikes. The best part though will be that the packing will be done... and the unpacking won't have started yet. We basically have the rest of our lives to unpack since I don't think we'll be going anywhere anytime soon, God willing.

Got the beast of a hall closet packed yesterday -- and then we remembered we don't have a downstairs coat closet in the new house. We think they might have converted it to the downstairs bathroom. Bummer. We'll have to do some creative organizing. Today I tackle the dining room buffet. Lots of serving pieces, platters, the Good China, etc. The kitchen pack up starts tomorrow, so we'll be eating off of paper soon.

The weather looks beautiful for the next 10 days though, so it will make the move pleasant. This is the exact time of year that we moved into our current house, so we at least we're consistent. There are more similarities - we made the offer on this house on my birthday (ditto for the new house) and we finalized the deal three days later (ditto). Weird, that.

Moving on - day 4

I borrowed this from Libby...

You Are a Gingerbread House

A little spicy and a little sweet, anyone would like to be lost in the woods with you.

What Holiday Food Are You?

Let me know what Holiday Food you are!

We had a wonderful visit with M's brother Mike last night. We went to Red Mesa, one of my favorite restaurants. The kids made it though the whole meal and A only started throwing food right at the end. Then we came back to the house to sit amongst the clutter and eat homemade carrot cake (my first!). It was so nice to catch up with him.

Back to reality here... we made great progress yesterday and I'm still shocked at how much stuff we have. I've got a van-load on the way to my favorite kid's consignment shop and Goodwill and there's still stuff pouring out of every closet, cupboard and room. Not to mention the odd scritchy-scratchy noise coming from the laundry room cupboards. Yikes. Today I'm concentrating on the dining room and main hall closet. Shouldn't be too hard - or so I think.

My goal is to have all my packing for the day done before D gets home from school so that I can spend some quality time with her AND make a real dinner tonight.

Cheers!

Moving on - day 3

We're one week from the move! And 10 days from the closings! That means in less than 2 weeks, with a little bit of God's grace, we'll be living in our new home, cooking on the World's Oldest Gas Range and the kids will finally have their own bedrooms. I'm sure they'll still bug the crap out of each other, but maybe that will get better when they don't have to live on top of each other. Ah, privacy. The new house basically gives each of us (including Dog) 600 sq ft to spread out. I'm sure initially it will feel soooo big, but we all know how your stuff has a way of expanding to fill a vacuum.

But we gotta get there first. M slaved all weekend and did a great job packing and organizing the two main junk zones. I'm ashamed to say I contributed little more than child care. Although I have a neat plan for getting the house packed up, I've yet to put a single item in a box. I'd rather be blogging. Oh wait, I did empty some of the pantry cupboards and packed away my precious food processor. I swear I'll get crackin' today -- as soon as A is napping.

I also have a tremendously long list of assorted service providers, etc. to call with our new contact information. I'd better get on that too.

OK. Enough! I'm going! Right now!

Moving on - day 2

Day 2. Back to summer-ish weather here. Hot, sticky. Or maybe I feel that way because I tried to take both kids to Mass this morning, without M, and then to the Pancakes w/ Santa breakfast afterward. What a fiasco. A still can't make it past the homily without losing his mind, so we inevitably end up in the vestibule or cry room. We were also waaayyyyy overdressed (I thought it was going to be cool like yesterday) so that accounts for the "hot" part. Then the syrup dispensers were leaking, so that might be the "sticky." Plus it was smack dab in the middle of A's major nap time -- don't deny that boy his nap! -- and you have hot, sticky, whiny, kicking fun. I know it was the first Sunday of Advent, but I couldn't tell you a single thing other than that. Isn't that terrible? Thank goodness that D is now and has always been an absolute angel in church. I think I've had to hush her once in five years. I'm ashamed to admit that A doesn't usually go. Since almost all the mass times coincide with either sleeping or feeding times, M usually takes him for a long walk while D & I are at church. It works out well for us, at least until A is old enough to behave in church. Or be bribed. Whatever works.

So Packing Day 2 was the main reason I was taking on both kids today. M's made some great headway -- both the garage and the attic are cleared. He's even tossing some old Law School books and papers that he hasn't needed for the last 8 years! The art room is starting to fill up with boxes - it's our staging area - and we tackle the pantry, laundry and dreaded hall closet next. On Tuesday I'll start on the china and crystal, Wed. & Thurs. will be the major kitchen packup and then the bedrooms and bathrooms next Friday - Sunday. Gulp. For fairly anti-materialistic people we sure have a LOT of stuff. Also, I have 15 years of National Geographic that I can't bear to part with even though they weigh well over 150 lbs. (when we moved here 7 years ago they weighed 76, so I'm estimating they've about doubled) and take up 3 boxes of their own. Also taking up room is my beautiful, preserved wedding dress. It's also in an enormous box of it's own, carefully wrapped in acid-free packaging. I know the odds of D (or anyone) using it are teeny, but I can't bear to part with it. So maybe I'm a wee bit packratty too.

Moving on - day 1

Good morning! Today is a picture perfect Florida December day - blue skies, lots o' sun, low humidity, about 60-ish. Perfect for walking the beach looking for shells, packing a picnic lunch and hanging at the local park, or going to the Farmer's Market for produce, some granola and a hot breakfast crepe. Or for tearing apart your house, emptying out the attic and packing. Guess what we're doing?

Today is officially Day 1 of the moving process. Because we only have two weekends before the move/close, and M is not able to do a lot during the week, the bulk of the heavy stuff has to be done this weekend. So that means many trips up and down the rickety attic stairs to take down all the crap that we put up there when we moved in and haven't touched since. I say "chuck it" but M is more of a packrat, and since he's doing the heavy lifting, I'll let him organize it however he wants. Whatever. Of course, that's how we ended up with an attic full of crap in the first place. There's good stuff up there too - like our Christmas decorations (which I don't know if we'll get to this year) and baby stuff and boxes of clothes I haven't worn since the summer of '01 -- before the first time I was pregnant. I think maybe those should go to Goodwill. By the time I'm able to fit into a size 2/4 again, all that stuff will be even more hopelessly outdated than it is now. Although.... I think I've got a bunch of Ralph Lauren I might save. Stuff that's too cute (and expensive) to toss or to try to replace.

We do have some fun things happening - my brother-in-law will be here for a work-related visit on Sunday and we're going to meet on Monday evening for dinner. We haven't seen him since March, so it will be great to catch up in person.

Have a great weekend!

Calm before the storm

** UPDATE: Had a fab breakfast - brie omelettes! sourdough toast! no kids!! - but decided, unwisely, to weigh myself AFTER. Shockingly, I've gained eight (8!!) pounds since the end of the summer. Is it stress? Hormones? My Baked Treat of the Day diet? My commitment to sloth? WTF? I need to do something about it and I'm out of viable excuses not to. **

I am just starting to let myself believe we're actually moving! It still feels a little bit weird, like maybe something will fall through? But M assures me that it's a done deal now, that our buyers are locked in, and I can schedule the movers for December 10-- or maybe the 11th. We're trying to get our sellers to allow us to move our stuff in a few days early. Then M, the kids and I and my parents are going to stay out at the beach for a few days until the closing. It will be a nice break from reality transition to the new house and we desperately need some R&R. Of course, M will still be working and I'll have the commute from hell to get D to school on time, but by December 13 this will all be over. I guess it seems so hectic because we're closing on two houses less than 30 days after the contracts were signed. That's a lot to happen in a pretty short time.

I'm off to a belated birthday breakfast with one of my mom friends this a.m. She's building a new house so it will be a nice break for both of us.

One of those days

Today was the perfect storm:

1) The fourth (or fifth?) week that one or both of the kids have come down with whatever kid-illness is going around. They both had the respiratory thing, D is just getting over the high-fever-and-endless-hacking-cough thing, and now A has the vomiting/diarrhea thing. Yay.

2) House inspections. Today we had the inspection for the house we want to buy. Friday is our inspection (please, Lord, let it pass). It's the culmination of three crazy, insanely busy weeks of showings, cleaning, negotiations, cleaning, late night meetings, cleaning and signing of documents involving numbers bigger that I ever imagined seeing attached to my name. And cleaning. I don't know how our realtor, who has three young kids of her own, manages to hold it together. I could never handle this level of activity on a long-term basis. It's the main reason we decided I was better of as a stay-home mom.

3) A is driving me: up a wall, to tears and, quite possibly, to drink. I think we might be getting close to some terrible two behavior. Besides being sick off and on since early October, he has developed quite the fussy attitude toward food, life in general and me in particular. He fusses if I won't pick him up and cries if I do. He follows me around, whinging. He won't eat anything but bread-y things, pasta and applesauce (the diarrhea thing surprised me -- you'd think he'd be completely stopped up), and when he's not eating, he's crying or throwing chewed-up bits of food around the dining room. But it's the whinging that's killing me slowly. I feel like a horrible mom sometimes -- like he's whinging because of something I'm doing/not doing. I get impatient and yell. I am short-tempered. And I know all of this simply makes me human, not a bad mom, but you still feel bad when you yell at your kids. Although in the end it's probably better than never yelling at your kids and then they grow up never being able to take criticism. These past three weeks have confirmed a couple of things for me:
1) it's quite OK to use TV as a babysitter, especially when you are talking to mortgage brokers. 2) there's absolutely nothing wrong with sticking your 16 month old in their crib when the fussing/whining/crying/dropping of heavy objects on your feet gets too much, especially when you are talking to mortgage brokers. And 3) Children aren't going to turn out to be axe murderers if they eat pasta for every meal for a few weeks.

Thank you to everyone for your well wishes and congratulations... keep 'em coming. Closing isn't for a few more weeks.

SOLD!

What a roller coaster! What looked like a total washout last week is a done deal this week. We signed the paperwork last night to sell our house and buy the 1925 Prairie style house we've been wanting! Woo hoo!

Here's the virtual tour.


We've got inspections tomorrow, and if they go well we will close on December 12! Gulp. Better get crackin' on that packin'!

On again?

I should remember that I have more faith than I felt last week. This weekend we got an offer on our house AND we've accepted it!! So now all we have to do is go lock up the house we've been after for a few weeks... we came to terms on price, just not on the whole issue of us not having sold yet. So YIPPEEE! It seems like this is all going to work out after all! The buyers want a really aggressive closing schedule - December 12. It's kind of wild to imagine we might be out of here in just a few short weeks. For those just tuning in, here's the house we will probably be living in as of December 13:



It's going to be a busy few weeks but I'm really excited about the prospect of decorating the new house -- especially the beautiful pine stairs. I've never decorated stairs before, but I just imagine boughs of evergreen and huge gold bows and maybe a few gold lights. I'll post interior pictures as soon as I get them, so get your best decorating ideas ready!

Keep your fingers crossed for us we should have final contacts on both properties by tomorrow!

Bummed out

Yesterday sucked.

First, we found out that the sellers aren't willing to wait for us to sell our house. They would rather rent it then get into a contingency contract. I mean, I know the housing market is off right now, but ugh. Back to square one... sell, move or renovate? It's like an endless, hideous game of Monopoly but instead of ending up on Park Place we keep getting stuck on Vermont Avenue.

And D was/is home from school with at 102 fever. I'm hoping it clears up by Friday because her class is doing a Thanksgiving feast and play and I wouldn't want her to miss it. Also I'm chairperson for the event so I'd be sticking someone with my job.

And I have to get my first crown on Thursday morning.

And M forgot my birthday until he saw the gifts my parents and his parents sent and then he said "Oh that was nice. Why'd they do that?"

And we ended up eating Taco Bell for dinner because we had a late showing of the house.

And I didn't even get any cake!

I'm in a crappy mood.

holy moley

What a weekend. I'm pooped.

First, it's been a non-stop cleaning-fest around here. We've had at least 2-3 showings of the house every day for about a week and a half. (Yay!) But, that means I'm constantly, CONSTANTLY cleaning. (Boo!) And picking things up. And hiding things. And etc. I'm tired of it and my hands are sandpaper dry even though I'm careful to wear gloves.

I did some fun stuff too. Friday night I took a few hours off to go out to dinner with some of my high school girlfriends who were in town for the weekend. It was great fun and so nice to catch up with them. But we were out until 12:30 so I will pay for that for about a week.

We also decided to have the interior of the house painted (to go with the general spiffing-up theme) and that meant we had to be out of our house all day Saturday and Sunday. What a total pain in the ass. Although it could have been worse -- I mean the weather was beautiful, D had a Girl Scout thing at school all day Saturday, and M took over baby duty for most of the weekend. But we weren't back in the house until 8:00 last night and spent a solid 2 hours doing a basic clean up. This morning I was back at it with vacuum, mop and sponge since we have a showing this afternoon.

And if all that weren't enough to wear a girl out, M forgot my birthday. I'm not generally passive-aggressive, but I'm going kinda let this stew and see what happens if I don't remind him. I know we've got a lot going on, but really? Completely forgot? Humph.

Somebody watching me?

We have a double corner lot, so our realtor hung two signs: one in front and one on the side. We've had lots of traffic in the last two days. It's a weird feeling to see people -- strangers -- cruising slowly by and ogling us. Guess we better stop walking around in our underwear. Maybe to pique interest we'll walk around nude! Hah! Just kidding. No one wants to see us nude. Not even us.

On our realtor's advice, we bought a new, modern ceramic-top range. (Hey, buyers -- I hope you appreciate that!) Sears delivered it at 7:45 am today, Sunday. Thank goodness for the time change. Seconds, literally, before they arrive D prances out of her room nude (NUDE! There's more nudity for ya!) and asks if she can wear her bathing suit. Ooh. Bad timing sweetie. Mommy is sorry she snapped at you but the delivery guys were pulling up out front. Next time ask BEFORE you take off all your clothes. Also? Probably not on the first really chilly day of the year. It was probably in the low 60s last night. Heaven. It's 10:30 and the a/c hasn't kicked on once! Hallelujah!

Welcome Fall!

For sale

The stress of trying to come up with a way to remodel our adorable little bungalow wore us down. We just made an offer on this:



Ain't she pretty?

Anyway, it's all contingent on the sale of OUR home, so if you know anyone who's looking for a beautiful 1930s bungalow home, let me know!

Dang

Man. I made a resolution that THIS year I would not start eating the Halloween candy before the 31st. Stupid Milky Ways calling my name. If anyone has a cure for the 4:00 sugar craving, please let me know.

And I don't know why I'm eating commercial candy, reserved for small children dressed up in costumes, when I've got an nice order of this on the way!

Ode to a J Crew t-shirt

O! Sweet t-shirt!
We've weathered many storms.
You've warmed me when chilly
And cooled me when warm.

I've worn you with shorts,
Khakis, skirts and jeans.
You could dress up, dress down
And everything in between.

We've been together for many years
And even through pregnancy.
I wore you two (or three!) times a week
You were my cup of "green tee."

True, you've faded, gotten stained
You've rolled in water, mud and sand.
But what finally did you in?
The goo on my son's hand!

No mere goop, that goo.
Twas not any substance I could name.
It defied Tide, OxyClean and Shout
So we've had to call the game.

So now you are retired
And I remember fondly all that was...
No rag pile for you, my sweet!
You're now my pajamas!

So lame

Ok I can't believe it has been almost a month since I blogged. I've probably lost whatever tiny readership I had in the first place. You've probably heard it before, but I've been busy? M was in trial (which meant many late nights and early mornings and me pulling Total Kid Duty), then Baby A was sick for a week and then M was out of town for a few days and then whoops! it's a month later.

I do have this to show for it though: My New MomMobile. We finally bit the bullet. It was our anniversary present. Who knew that 8 years was Automobiles?

Slacker

Oh I'm so behind on posting and now with the new TV season started there's one more thing begging for my attention. I love you TiVo.

M has been in court all this week on a big trial. He hasn't been home before 11:00 one night this week. I've been trying to stay up so I can see him and chat, but I'm starting to feel a little sleep-deprived. We didn't get to bed until 1:00 yesterday. It should all wrap up tomorrow anyway.

Tomorrow is also our first Daisy meeting. My co-leader is super organized so I think we have all the bases covered between us. I hope we get a good turnout!

I'm going to take a quick nap while A is down for his. Or maybe I'll do some reading... I'm about halfway into "A Thousand Splendid Suns" and I like it even more than Kite Runner.

Daze-y

For at least a week now, I had assumed I was leading the Kindergarten Daisy troop at D's school. I've got the paperwork going and had planned to send out an information letter on Monday. So I was a bit surprised when we all got an invitation to a Daisy Informational Meeting from another mom in the class today. Talk about operating in a vacuum, people. I had talked to the class moms, a bunch of other moms, the mom who was in charge of the Troop last year, basically all the moms in the class (there are only about a dozen girls) except for the Mom who sent the letter. (Who, in her defense, because I believe in a strong defense, has been on bed rest since the beginning of the year and so hasn't really been around.) So, if there are any other people out there who plan on starting a Daisy Troop for D's kindergarten class, please step forward now. You know who you are.

Anyway, at first I felt a little hurt. M was pissed that I had been usurped (even though for the past week he's been warning me that I was going to get overwhelmed with all the stuff I had to do). But as the evening wore on, I started to see it in a more positive light. After all, this other mom doesn't have a one year old wild child at home who can't walk unless he's clinging to my leg. Let her take care of the coordinating, organizing, paperwork. I'll handle the snacks. So I called her up and offered my help as assistant leader. So all's well that ends well and at least my information letter didn't go out on the same day as hers. Which would have been really confusing for everyone. As it is, it was only confusing for me, the mom who had volunteered to be my co-leader and the other nine moms from the class that I had talked to.

A is going to his first playgroup today. Happily, most of the other mom's from D's playgroup have had a second round of children, so we're going to continue meeting with this second generation. They are a wonderful bunch of friends & moms and all of the kids play great together. It'll be great to catch up with everyone since we didn't meet regularly as a group over the summer.

Have a great weekend!

Ok, just ONE more

Nope, not one more slice of cake.

Or one more bowl of ice cream (although thank heaven for the Low-Fat version of Half-Baked, the most addictive ice cream in the world).

I'm talking one more day I gleefully, guiltily shipped A off to Mom's Morning Out. That makes two this week. It's wonderful, the free time. I'm getting used to walking without his tiny arms wrapped around my legs. I feel a little bad since I would never have DREAMED of sending D off with strangers when she was 13 months. As a matter of fact, she didn't go to MMO until she was about 2-1/2 and talking (you know, so she could report any abuse back to us). With A, I'm much, much more relaxed about things, but I still feel a little guilty. Oh well. I'm also getting a lot done - like making dinner for tonight since D has swimming and I hate the mad rush to feed the kids once we get home.

I may even go take a nap.

Have a great weekend!

In the still of the night

I love 9:45 at night. It is so peaceful. The kids are asleep and, after a long Labor Day fishing and a hard day back at work, M is too. The dishes are done, lunch and snacks packed, all toys are picked up off the floor. I can blog, read, email (although I probably won't, so I'm sorry if I owe you an email!) and polish off the rest of the Haagen-Dazs, although I won't do it while watching the "Biggest Loser" recap show. Even an unabashed dessert-hound like me will feel guilty indulging while a whole show of people go on and on about "willpower" and "good choices" and "label reading."

We had an absolutely lovely weekend at my mom & dads. It was so nice to get another little break. Coupled with A's "Mom's Morning Out" program (which started today) I feel very rested. While he was gone, I went to the grocery, called some more builders and even got a chance to cook some chicken for dinner. We even made it to school to pick up D early enough that we didn't have to race across town for her swim lessons.

Not sure what I'll do until bedtime - read a little? watch NCIS? more ice cream? All three!!

Glutton for punishment

Because there's always room to be more overwhelmed and crazy than I already am, I volunteered to lead the Daisy scout troop at D's school. Supposedly the committment is one afternoon a month to meet and do a craft. I'm not naturally crafty or creative but I do LOVE Michael's so I'm sure that I can handle that part. And a few more bags of craft supplies drifting around the house won't hurt anyone. And, because it's me, the thing that I'll obsess over is what to bring for snacks... something healthy? something homemade? something in a box from the store? something for the girls to make and eat themselves, therefore qualifying as both a craft AND a snack?

The upside is I get to spend time with D and her sweet little friends.

The downside is I'm going to have to try to find a sitter who'll be able to watch A or I'll have to (gulp) bring him with me to the Daisy meetings. All the snacks in the world aren't going to keep him occupied for an hour and the post-school afternoon meeting time rules out our current crop of sitters, so I'll have to give this one some thought.

You, me and coffee

It has been a highly stressful last few weeks, manifested mainly in my marked increase in caffeine consumption. We're talking three cups of coffee in the a.m. and at least two Diet Cokes a day. When less than 4 months ago I was still in "nursing mode" and only drinking 1/2 cup of coffee in the morning.

Why? Well, besides dealing with the gloriously entertaining monotony of being a full-time mom to a one-year-old, and the never ending battle to stay organized, and the ENORMOUS stream of paperwork generated by having one (just ONE!) kid in kindergarten, we have the ongoing stress of the great "move or renovate" debate, now entering it's third year. It seems impossible that M and I have been talking about this subject for that many years without ever coming to a single decision, a plan of action, or simple resolution. Can it really be that difficult?! Shouldn't be, since I'm a fairly decisive person and M, as an attorney, makes educated, researched decisions for his living. But no. We're still crammed into our beautiful, tiny house endlessly discussing what to do next. It's as boring and pointless as it sounds, folks. Both of us, and probably D too, can trot out a whole list of pros and cons and interest rates and names of builders and designers and ideas, but to act on any of this information? Nope. Seems impossible.

Why? Well, M's been insanely busy, travelling, trials, lots of work pressure. I spend my days chasing after A and trying to cram a full days worth of chores into the 90 minutes he naps in the morning. Then we have swim lessons, tennis lessons, meals to make.... I don't know why I'm so busy, I just am. I long, yearn, pray for the day when they are both in school (even just part-time) so that I have a couple of uninterrupted hours a day. I wonder sometimes if this "at home" mom thing is the right thing for me. I lack the certain amount of patience and tolerance for disorganization that (I think) would enable me to function more calmly. I get quite testy when asked to guess, for the 4000th time, what kind of baby animal D is pretending to be, and yes, honey I love that picture your making. What's that? A bunch of flying hearts? No? Ohhh, of course, they're baby stingrays! I'm irritated by having toys, books and balls hurled at me all day long. Now, some of the toys have started making noises all on their own... a car & truck puzzle that makes its ambulance noise in the morning and the Fisher Price kitchen will mysteriously starting burbling and dinging away at night. Sometimes, by the time everyone has been fed, and dinner is cleaned up, and lunches and snacks have been made, and the coffee is set for the morning it's after 10:00. Does that seem late to you? No? Then you must be under 30, because that seems late to me! I hate to complain because I asked for and chose this life and I am blessed to be able to concentrate fully on the kids and not have to work outside of the house. And, when all is said and done, I crawl into bed exhausted, but happy. So maybe that is why no decisions are being made and why we continue to live all smushed happily into our little house.

I really need a vacation.

Get your fuss on

Anyone who knows D appreciates her ability to coin unique and entirely apropos phrases. The other day as A followed M around the house whining to be picked up, she yells out, "Watch out Daddy, he's going to put the fuss on you!" I thought it was great - just really apt. Much as when she described him to someone as the "messy thrower of crunchies."

A is hitting every milestone - head on and at top speed. He's got separation anxiety, night terrors, a growing sense of independence and static-clinginess; he's drooling, teething, walking, starting to talk, attempting to climb and wanting to eat on his own. The result of all this growth and change? He's a total fuss bucket. I imagine it would be like me waking up one morning and realizing I could fly. Or speak like six new languages. You'd be amazed, confused, torn between wanting to explore your new talent(s)and wondering how it happened. Of course, it's easy to talk about but I have less patience when I'm trying to go about my daily business with one moppet clinging to my leg and the other one asking a non-stop stream of questions, ranging from a simple request for definition ("Mommy, what's a precipice?") to the sublime ("Mommy, if I dress up like Sleeping Beauty am I really a princess?)

We're on our last summer trip before Kindergarten starts -- spending a few days in Naples with my parents. It's beastly hot, but the kids are having a great time playing with the cousins and I'm enjoying seeing my family.

Have a happy Monday everyone!

Dog days of summer

Top 10 Signs That You Wish Summer Was Over:

1) You no longer care that your daughter eats most meals dressed as a Disney princess
2) You consider a bowl of Lucky Charms and a glass of milk a good breakfast ... or dinner
3) Your grocery list is pretty much peaches, blueberries, corn and ice cream
4) Your yard only looks nice the day after the lawn guy cuts it
5) 100% humidity makes blow-drying your hair useless
6) You haven't turned on the oven in weeks
7) The a/c runs 24/7
8) Walking to the car makes you sweat
9) Not even the dog wants to go for a walk
10) Your kid doesn't start school for 3 weeks but you've already bought everything on her class supply list

Stay cool!

One more reason ....

11) You find it amusing to chase the dog with a remote control car

Wee walker

A started walking for real this week. Up until now he could manage about a dozen steps and then he would have to either cruise or crawl to reach his destination. But that changed overnight. Now he'll clamber upright and just start toddling around, usually with his blanket or a ball or some other toy in his mouth. (Is he imitating the dog?!) It is so cute and SO exhausting. I've lost 5 lbs. in one week chasing him around and trying to contain the huge trail of toys, blocks, blankets, balls and whatever else he drags through the house. Last night I collapsed on the couch at 8:30, guzzled split half a beer with M, and promptly fell asleep.

We've actually been sleeping very well lately because, after that wonderful night on the Hampton Inn Cloud Nine (TM) bed, I went out and bought all the linens, etc. to recreate the experience right here at home. It's amazing. Even M thinks its great. I got a fluffy, 14-oz., 250 thread count mattress pad, new sheets, down-and-feather pillows and a new duvet. It really is comfortable. I've never really understood the concept of good bedding before, but I'm a true believer now.

I think I'll go take a nap.

Happy birthday big boy!

A happy, happy first birthday to my sweet "baby" A. One year ago today, M & I were at the hospital to have them induce labor. I wasn't overdue; they were concerned that he was too big for me to deliver. I got my inducing meds around midnight, and I think right about now was when I started to rethink my decision to not get an epidural. After writhing and moaning for a few hours I finally used the code word that M & I had set up ahead of time that meant I was serious, get me my friggin' drugs STAT! A was finally born around 2 in the afternoon (you can tell when it's not your first kid, because while I know D's birth time down to the second, all I know about A was that I pushed for about 45 minutes and it was 2-ish. Or maybe 3?!)

We're having a low-key birthday. My sister & our friend Kari are coming over for BBQ and cake this afternoon.

For presents, he got a Fisher-Price train (because we didn't have enough molded plastic crap toys already?) and a great bucket of cars/planes/trains from Grandma & Grandpa J. To add to the celebration, we also got a new vacuum because our old upright finally surrendered. I swear it was spewing out as much dirt and hair and junk as it sucked in.

A and D are as different as oil and water, but I am happier than I could ever imagine having these two precious children. They add so much joy, wonder, excitement, marvel to my life that it more than makes up for the quadrupled housework and never-ending cascade of laundry. Some friends have described their children, particularly boys, as tornados. I'd describe A as a lava flow - a stupendous explosion followed by slow, complete destruction. Watching him in action taking apart the playroom, bedroom, kitchen cabinets is poetry in motion. He's totally deliberate and thorough. You don't even realize the chaos in his wake he's so much fun to watch.

Ok, while Birthday Boy naps I'm going to sneak in a bit more Harry Potter. I'm about halfway through.

Life is good.

Media blackout

I am under a weekend-long self-imposed ban on emails, the Internet, Google, news, E!, and any other media outlet that might possibly spoil the new Harry Potter book, which I, like any self-respecting 12-year-old, have pre-ordered from Amazon for delivery first thing Saturday morning. If by chance you finish the book before me, which is likely given the demands of raising two children, please do NOT tell me a thing about it! I will be reading as fast as I can in high anticipation of jumping on those discussion boards as soon as possible.

Thank you!

We're back

We're back from North Carolina! We had a wonderful time with M's parents. The weather was super - the last week we were there it barely got above 60 on a couple of days (of course, they are up around 4300 ft. above sea level, which makes for some mighty refreshing air). It was a bit of a shock to return to 90+ heat, although it should be expected for Florida in July. The kids and I survived our 12 hour car ride home, with a short stop at the Hampton Inn Valdosta, GA. (NOTE: Shameless plug ahead!) I really can't say enough about the Hampton Inn - I haven't stayed in one since the 90s and they've REALLY upgraded their facilities. And the Cloud Nine bed? Heaven! You gotta try it.

But now we're home, back to routine -- trying to answer D's thousands of questions (A sampling: "what's a precipice? what's an estate? who named this thing a grape? why are there crunchy things on my bagel?"); planning A's one-year birthday party; hopefully going to see my parents before school starts. And let's not forget the ongoing nightmare of the renovation plan that can't quite get off the ground. But something must be done because the kids really need their own space. Now. Of course we've been saying that for a year with no results at all.

Hope the weather is cooler wherever you are!

Hey loser....

So, the kids and I are having a great time on vacation and the weather is great and all. Then last night (3 days into our good time!) I get a call from M that someone from American Express's security division was questioning some "unusual activity" on my card. Hmmm. No, I haven't lost my credit card. No, I didn't let anyone "borrow" it. And, hell no, I didn't purchase $60 of gas last Saturday night at a Texaco station in Venice, Florida. So I go online to check my card and find that some LOSER out there has charged over $7000 since last Friday night on my card!!!!! At places like 7-11s, Shell stations (over $4000 at Shell stations in the Ft. Myers area alone!) and TACO FRIGGIN' BELL!!!!! I'm LIVID. I call AMEX, who are very professional, assure me that my account is SOOOO cancelled and a new card being issued as we speak and that of course I'm not liable for a penny of those charges. And by the way, do I have any idea who might have done this? (No, because no one I know spends over $40 at Taco Bell. In a lifetime. Let alone one night.) Amex also assures me that IF they catch this person they will prosecute - and I'll be happy to help send this person to a punishment they deserve, which in my opinion should include things like many years of hard time, maybe on a chain gang, a flogging and perhaps public humiliation, but will probably be something much less. And by the way, all you scumbucket card-stealing losers out there, THANKS A LOT for robbing me of my piece of mind on my vacation. Now I get to spend the rest of my lovely month here (and probably the rest of the year) worrying that someone has stolen my identity.

The new world order

Hello out there. Sorry it has been such a while, but the kids have kept me "entertained" 24/7 lately with nary a break. Every little thing takes 16 billion times longer than it should... like D & I playing the ever-popular game "What Animal Am I?" (These are a sampling of responses as she tries to guess "duck.")

"Cat?"
"Dog?"
"Bird?" (Ooh! getting close!)
"Canary?"
"Parrot?"
"Pterodactyl?" (Huh?!)
"Foofie bird?" (Ok, we're off track....)

And so on for 25 minutes people.... I didn't know she knew so many types of birds. Finally, after momentary diversions into other animal genres, she gets duck. Yes, 25 quality time minutes with my exhaustingly smart daughter - now 25 minutes behind getting dinner ready, etc.

Don't even get me started on the non-stop screaming, screeching, wailing as Baby A attempts to get around the house using his walker. He's very good with it, but hates that he has to do it without me, so every proud, independent step is accompanied by his non-stop top-of-his-lungs vocal disapproval that I'm not holding his sweaty little hand. He will (purposely?) steer himself into a corner then scream until he falls down - yet I've seen him nimbly manouever the walker to get over to D when she has a snack in her hand.

But, our vacation is thankfully just around the corner. We leave this weekend for a wonderful month in the mountains of Western North Carolina with my in-laws. We ended up deciding to fly M's mom down to drive up with the kids and I on Sunday. After the last few days, I was pretty concerned about the long drive alone with the kids - A is a handful and a half, which only leaves half a hand for D. But Grandma J will be a big help and good company and I won't have to worry about speeding to get there before dark (they live at the top of a very dark, very rugged, very beautiful mountain - tricky driving in broad daylight - scary in the pitch black after a long day's drive.)

Not sure what my internet access will be like once we're there, but I'll try to get a post in now and then. And of course, a recap once we're home in July.

Hope you all are enjoying your summer too!

Party with your kids

I spent the weekend attending not one, but two parties. A first for our life post-kid, as that's typically the number of parties we attend in a whole year. But, these were all kid/school related and were both great fun. One was a pool party and the other a house party - which was crazy because it poured rain (due to Tropical Storm Barney) for the first time in about 4 months and so all the kids, who normally would have been outside were instead running through the house - mud and water and screaming everywhere. But fun and good company and great food all the same.

Today I am attempting to make Lobster Rolls for dinner and am a tad anxious about potentially ruining such an expensive dish. Some recipes are simple - mayo, salt & pepper - others call for celery, capers, tarragon, chives. I'm not sure which way to go, but I do have my hot dog rolls all ready, so at least that part will be authentic.

All is quiet on the home front for now. Baby A is taking an afternoon nap and D is whining that she's bored. If A wakes up in time, maybe we'll head out to the pool for a bit.

Where have I been?

With summer hols here, things have been pretty nuts but I think we've finally worked out some kind of schedule. D had some major adjustment with being home from school and wanting time with me -- she's definitely not used to sharing me with Baby A. Anyhoo, she's off with Aunt Debbie today to swim & play and that's just fine with me.

We've got two parties this weekend (a social calendar first!) - one tonight and a pool party on Sunday. Next week we meet with a new architect to try to get this renovation thing off the ground. Then we're off to the mountains of Western North Carolina in two weeks, but until then, maybe I'd rather be here:

You Belong in Dublin

Friendly and down to earth, you want to enjoy Europe without snobbery or pretensions. You're the perfect person to go wild on a pub crawl... or enjoy a quiet bike ride through the old part of town.

What European City Do You Belong In?

Have a nice weekend!