Moving: Tomorrow

Pray for us. We're gonna need it.

This is really too good not to share

Thank you, Nicky Lewin, for providing me with excellent blog fodder.

First, the context.

When Andy and I first got married my sweet aunt and uncle gave us their old living room furniture. It was basically a navy and white scheme with stripes and flowers (many of you will remember it well). Then, a couple of years ago we used our tax return to buy updated living room furniture (i.e. some without stripes or flowers). I was planning on selling the old stuff but that turned out to be a dead-end road.

So we gave it to our church. It has lived ever since in the Lower Pod (otherwise known as the perfect place to spend a Wednesday morning). Every once in a while Nicky and I would find ourselves sitting in Women's Bible Study happily perched on our old sofa or loveseat. And she would occasionally dig around in the cushions and find stuff that we had long lost and forgotten. I myself would never so much as stick a pinkie down in such a disgusting abyss.

Her findings provided endless Bible study entertainment as well as a chance to get really good at not laughing out loud while the pastor was teaching on, say, Ecclesiastes.

After we moved I pretty much forgot all about our old couches until the mail came today. In it was a package and a letter from Nicky:

“…so I was sitting on your old floral couch in Bible study, thinking how Bible study just isn’t the same without you. Then, for old times sake, I stuck my hand down in the side and lo and behold I struck gold! I even found an unopened SoftLips to replace the one Drew ate the other day!”

The package included the aforementioned SoftLips, a tiny blue piece of the Settlers game, an old cassette tape, and one of Andy's German notecards:



You cannot even imagine the level of laughter around mailtime here today. A big thank you to Nicky, that package was just about priceless. I may even need to go hunt up the ‘Maintenance Chart’ now to go with it.

Oh, and I'll include an 'after' picture. This is what Madeline has been up to while I've been typing:

No Rhyme or Reason (...or Point)

I might be suffering from a bit of blogger's block and, needless to say, men singing loudly while dressed in tights is doing nothing for my concentration. (Andy is watching an opera and meanwhile my brain is in a fog.) But, lack of clarity has never stopped me from posting before. Pressing on.

Dolly asked what we've all been up to. A grand ole heap-o-nothing. Monday we met friends at the playground and NOT the one Drew wanted to go to. (He got over it.) Yesterday another friend was kind enough to have us over to play and jump on her neighbor's trampoline and even fed us lunch. Today was a house-bound day to resurface from underneath the laundry pile.

And the following is an actual conversation I had with Drew this morning: "Mommy, I don't want to watch Red Toy Movie. I need you to help me put the toys in the toy box and you need to bacuum my room!"

Yes, I am raising Angel Child.

[Disclaimer: I will only 'bacuum' their room when there are no toys on the floor. And they love for me to 'bacuum' their room because to them it's this huge game where they run, scream, and jump on Drew's bed and pretend to be brave as they cautiously poke a toenail down to the carpet below while the vacuum cleaner is actually running - even if it's still five feet away. And the nearer I get to the bed the louder the screams, squeals, and giggles get. It's all very entertaining, really. Plus the result is a clean room so, really, who am I to complain?]

I took them to a closer park tonight after Andy called and said he would be home late. No sense in all of us going mad from being cooped up inside. And they might as well run off some post-nap steam and get dirty enough to make bathtime worth my while.

Madeline, (otherwise known as a mini daredevil in disguise) gave me a few of her usual climbing scares. It was cute, though, when she was hanging from the bar above the slide she looked over and said, "I strong!"

Yeah. No doubt.

My New Theme-Song

(Andy wanted to be sure you knew this is all in good fun and not really my new life motto.)

Weeding Out

I spent the morning weeding out my kids' drawers. A huge job. But a job despretely needing to be done. I mean, there were still socks in Drew's drawer sized 18 months. It was frustrating anytime he wanted to wear his 'sneakers' when I would grab a 18 mo. sock by mistake. I mean, it might have covered his big toe.

Clearly it was time. Also, we might start the move next weekend so, it was sort of now or never. But after several hours of work the drawers are all updated and ready for fall. The attic, on the other hand, is still a huge messy pit. That's really okay though because I can't see it. And the door will remain tightly shut. (Until we move, that is.)

The inner princess has emerged.

Madeline wanted to play outside so I told her she had to get her shoes on. She insisted on wearing her "sneakers." (Which, by the way, I refer to as 'tennis shoes.' Andy calls them 'sneakers,' so the kids do too. However unfortunately.) I was fishing out some socks for her and grabbed a pair of white ones.

No, she wanted the pink ones. So I got out some pink ones. But they were light pink.

No, she wanted the hot pink ones. Get it right, Mom.

How can a two-year-old be so particular??

Another Day

Andy worked in NYC again today so it was another of my single-parent days, (otherwise known as days that feel eternal). But, thankfully, the summer heat is nearly gone and so we spent a lot of time outside.

I was sitting in the yard watching Drew play with his cars when Madeline walked over and held out her hand, "look, Mom!" She was holding a spider on the tip of her thumb. I probably jumped at least ten feet.

Then later Drew came in and was complaining about ‘the bees outside.’ (One had pestered us earlier but I had sprayed it dead with my trusty Raid Wasp & Hornet spray.) I walked out to the deck to find a swarm of flies (Drew had thought they were bees) hovering over a chicken breast bone that was once, apparently, someone's dinner. The neighbor cat has brought over a variety of unwanted gifts; I’m sure this was also from that cat. I brought out my OSHA suit for the cleanup, don’t worry.

Surprisingly, we didn’t go anywhere today. I mean we didn’t drive anywhere. My kids did drag me on two different walks around the neighborhood (during one of which the top part of my flip flop kept breaking out of the sole. I’m sure it was a very attractive scene).

I hit that stir-crazy time in between nap and dinner (say 5:00 ish) where I just thought my head was going to explode if we didn’t go somewhere, anywhere, and spend some money. Even if it was just a pack of gum at the gas station.

Somehow I averted temptation and we stayed put. I even managed to make it all the way to bedtime in one complete piece. I will say though, I'm looking forward to the weekend when there will be other people in the house older than, well, four.

Keeping Busy

Today was one of those days where I wish we could afford a live-in nanny/babysitter/maid. I haven't caught up on laundry in oh, about forever, so this morning I set about folding the twenty-six mounds that had been wrinkling away in various baskets.

Here's what Drew and Madeline did in the meantime:

Drew ate my new stick of Softlips chapstick. (I don’t know why they think it is fit for human consumption but suffice it to say, this was not the first time.) Madeline spit out her purple hunk of bubble gum and left it for me to step in (which I did). Then I found Drew had scribbled pencil all over the wall going up the stairs (which reminds me, I still need to erase it). And Madeline broke one of Grandmom's wine goblets out of the glass cabinet. Later she also broke the monogrammed plate off of her bracelet when she was trying to take it off herself.

That was all before lunch.

So. Know of any good maids that will work for, say, cookies and milk?

I can't think of a good title right now

I can't even remember the first half of today, so it must have been terribly noteworthy. Then when the kids were napping I started a new book only to wake up two hours later thinking 'oh, I guess I fell asleep.'

And due to the random schedule that my in-laws keep, they were alseep when the kids and I woke up. So instead of tip-toeing around the house post-nap, I loaded everyone up and we met a friend at a playground. Can I just say that I love the fall? I love the crisp air and I really love the clothes. And the approaching of the major holidays.

After dinner I took advantage of Andy being home and ran to the grocery store. Without kids, obviously. When I was paying for my purchase, the cashier said "your necklace is kinda cute."

I'm not really sure how you're supposed to respond to statements like that.

"Um, thank you, I guess."

My Brown-Eyed Girl

(I heart this chair.)

Cool September Sunday

Today was a slightly crazy Sunday. My dad and aunt drove up from Baltimore to go to church with us (dad being in the DC area on business over the next few days). And so, naturally, they came over afterwards for lunch.

After I managed to spill coffee all over the table and my dad's pants (because I'm a graceful ballerina), we put the girls down for a nap and drove over to the new place for a look-see. Drew came along, too, since it's not every day Papa comes for a visit!

I am very pleased to announce that we now have a bathtub. There was a point in time where it looked like all we were going to get was a single shower stall in the new house. (I don't even want to go into that issue here.) Thankfully, that has all been worked out and I've now seen the tub with my own two eyes. I also was glad to see the house again since I picked out the paint colors from memory after only seeing it once. This was my second time. And I still like my paint choices, so that is convenient.

Terrible bummer that my dad and aunt had to leave after we walked through the house. I felt like most of my time with them was spent doing things for the meal and for the kids; we really didn't get to talk too much. Hopefully the next visit will be longer and less distraction-intensive.

And I'll take seeing my dad for a few hours over nothing any day.

She Makes Me Tired.

My dad (and possibly aunt) is coming to visit tomorrow, just for the day. So today is a Big Ole Cleaning Day.

Andy took Drew to run some errands for work stuff, and the baby is asleep. So all I have to do is watch Madeline. Easy enough.

Wrong.

She walked into my room gooped up with something smelling like spring rain. I think she said something about the bathroom being locked (no duh) and she needed to wash her hands. That's when I noticed the goop was in her hair and all over her legs, too.

I put her in the bath because rinsing in the sink just wasn't cutting it. She was happy to splash around so I went downstairs to investigate.

Spring Rain bodywash - of course! I forgot I'd left a new bottle on the table at the bottom of the stairs. Within easy reach, it was a dumb thing for me to do. It appeared she thought it was some sort of special carpet and treadmill cleaner. I cleaned up that mess in time to come back up to the bathroom and find Madeline taking a bath with 8 of her books.

Books aren't usually a bathtime kind of toy.

Unless they are plastic, which these weren't. I'm not really sure how to dry out eight water-logged children's books but I suppose they'll dry in their own sweet time.

Fun Friday

Ran down to the children's museum again. Only this time with friends and without baby. (Thank goodness for a mother-in-law who was home all day.)

Ate lunch at Target. It was my first time eating an actual meal at Target. A new low perhaps - eating at Target. But it was fun, so who cares? I don't plan on making it a routine, at least.

Found some great pants, as seen on Big Mama. (Although I ended up re-ordering a different size online to compare. Will be returning one of them.)

Home for an intended nap. Emphasis on "intended."

Thankfully Daddy walked in early. ("Please take these kids far, far away. I've had them for three days, by myself.")

Not really, we ended up playing ball in the backyard with the kids and enjoyed the pre-rain wind. You know, I don't know that it ever did rain, now that I think about it. Decided that figuring out any sort of dinner plans would send me straight into a mental institute. Went out for Mexican.

Andy did not want Taco Bell.

At least the music was loud enough to cover over our napless children. I said to Andy in the car, "it could have been worse," and he said "it could have been a LOT worse."

Is that how you judge a good dining-out experience with three kids? 'It could have been a lot worse!'

?

Probably the boringest post you'll ever read

Yesterday Andy had to work in NYC all day and then take clients out for dinner.

I know, Really Tough Job.

We decided it would make more sense for him to stay there overnight and then make his way home today by seeing accounts from north to south. So he stayed with Vangie and John. (The only consolation I have is that they were busy all day yesterday, too, and so it wasn't really a sit-around-and-chat kind of visit. More like a can-I-please-just-crash-on-your-couch-and-we'll-spend-ten-minutes-talking-over-breakfast kind of visit. So I didn't miss too much.)

I always do better having the kids by myself for a couple of days if I know in advance and can mentally prepare for it. It would have been a near-disaster if Andy had called Wednesday night saying 'honey, it's too late to drive back, I'm just going to stay up here. See you tomorrow night."

But since I had advance notice, it went off without a hitch. Yesterday morning the kids played on the front porch in the breeze (finally!) while I read and then after their nap we hit the playground. This morning we went over to some friends' house and played until Madeline's nap. (She's started asking for a nap. Usually long before Drew is ready or willing.)

And I'm sure you're dying to know if we went to Target, Andy being gone for two whole days and all.

Of course we did. (But only once...not too bad.)

And, since I've had the kids to myself for two full days without any other adult assistance, my brain is now mush and I have nothing further to say.

For now.

Several things.

First, I forgot to mention that we tried out the children's museum here last Saturday morning. We purposefully bought our Ch@ttanooga membership with the nationwide option, knowing we'd be using it up here as well. (Except, I've been putting it off because I was a little nervous about navigating directions into Philly and then trying out a new museum all by myself with three small children. That sounded more like parental torture.)

Well, it turns out there's another one only ten to fifteen minutes away from our house. Which basically means WE COULD HAVE BEEN GOING ALL SUMMER LONG!

It's a somewhat painful subject.

The museum itself was fine, if a little older and shabbier. Still good for an outing and will be great for rainy and snowy days. Some of the play areas were really clever - they just need more fencing and a generous dose of sanitizer.

Second - I went to a friend's baby shower later Saturday afternoon and realized again how confusing directions around here can be. It took an hour to find the church when it should have only taken twenty to twenty-five minutes. It was hot and the sun was too bright even with sunglasses on. Then, the largest mall of the area was just down the street so of course I had to go check it out after I left the baby shower. But I ended up having to walk a lot further than I was expecting. And then I had to search desperately for a gas station and hope and pray I made it to one or I wasn't going to make it home.

It all added up to being a really wonderful recipe for a splitting headache.

Next thing. I found out sometime last week that Drew and Madeline know quite a few of the children's catechism answers and Psalm 23. They even have some hand motions. They've been practicing in Sunday school all this time and I had no idea. We were sitting in the living room and Andy's mom asked Madeline, "who made you?" Madeline pointed her little finger up towards the ceiling and yelled, "GOD!" It was precious. And it was the first time I was aware of this whole catechism phenomenon.

This past Sunday was something they call "Rally Day" for the SS programs. I normally don't go to Sunday school because of the baby's 'schedule,' but I wish I had gone this week after I got the full report of Drew standing up with his class in front of the whole church (hence the title "rally") and reciting the whole children's catechism (well, okay, only reciting what he knows up to this point) and Psalm 23 as if he'd been saying them his entire life. Andy said it was like Drew was the star of a show...perfect hand motions and everything.

It's slightly ironic because the teacher told us he doesn't really recite anything in Sunday school...he just stands there with his thumb in his mouth and watches everyone else.

He's a closet prodigy. (Slight emphasis on 'closet.')

And, lastly, I walked into the bathroom tonight thinking it sure smelled like orange mango.



(Oh, and cows for today.)



See all those bubbles? Used to be our mostly-full bottle of Suave Orange Mango Outburst shampoo.

Oh, and...

Madeline wants to show you her little piggies.




(Her first non-stud-type pair of earrings.)

They fit her personality remarkably well. She'd live at the zoo if we let her. And maybe come home for an occasional popsicle and a change of shoes.

Becoming Jane

Andy and I put the kids to bed last night and hightailed it out of here. We saw "Becoming Jane."

If you have even the slightest appreciation for Jane Austen, you must run to the movie theater right this very second and see the movie.

It is nearly perfection.

In our opinion, of course.

Wine Dinner

Tonight Andy mixed business with pleasure and had me come along to a wine dinner he did for work. It was very, very entertaining.

We drove out to the restaurant, met the owners and the bar manager, as well as the chef and some of the staff, and then we sat in the tavern until it was time for the dinner. We were offered free drinks, obviously, but what I really wanted was some coffee. Except I felt somewhat silly asking for anything non-alcoholic while sitting in a tavern. Anyway.

Pretty much all Andy had to do was introduce each wine at the beginning of every course. Oh, and since it was an Italian wine dinner, he also felt it necessary to start out the evening singing an Italian aria. (For those of you who know Andy in real life, you will appreciate such information.)

Of course, he would be very quick to say that the owner was the one who suggested it. And he aims to please, he certainly does.

The owner! The owner. You know, I really wish I could just post her whole self right here on this blog. And that would just about make your day. But I really don’t think that would be possible and plus, I forgot to bring my camera. The word ‘eccentric’ comes to mind, but only in the best and most endearing sense of the word. Quite the interesting character, she was.

Oh my word at her hair. She had this puffy Gibson Girl bun thing that Anne Shirley would have been jealous of. (Except, well, it’s now 2007, and I'm quite confident that Anne Shirley's hair would have been up to date.) But the funny thing was this lady's hair did not, not, NOT match her personality.

I mean, when was the last time you sat at a bar talking about ‘yummy’ cosmopolitans to a lady who had puffy Gibson Girl hair?

Yeah, that’s what I thought. I thought she was kind of fun. In a Rachel Lynde sort of way.

The couple across from us – endless entertainment there, too. She was young and sassy. Great hair, curly, with a life of its own. The guy she was with (who we later learned was going through a divorce…obviously not with her) was some big money man for several hospitals. They were fun to talk to until they abruptly had to leave. Some hospital admin crisis, naturally. I was a little disappointed; they left right when it was getting interesting.

All I’m going to say about the food was that it was most definitely not St. John's. Andy was a little more, uh, verbal in his assessment. (I was slightly afraid they were going to hear him whispering to me about the shortcomings of the food. Which basically was that anytime you mass-produce in order to feed a roomful of people the exact same thing, you tend to compromise on the quality.) There were, however, a few bright spots. Like the sorbet.

We did leave a little hungry. Which does not really convey the most satisfying restaurant experience ever.

We got home to find out Adelaide detests formula. But it was her first taste, so maybe she’ll be more tolerant next time. I felt a little sorry for my mom-in-law. She was probably feeling a bit helpless on the other side of a bottle of a fairly hungry baby, without a whole lot of other feeding options.

But we all survived. Even the other kids, who, sadly, didn’t get to say g’night to mommy and daddy. A bedtime stalling tactic on their part, I’m sure. That and the predictable, urgent need for a drink of water.

See What I Mean?

They tried to eat the cones - plain - right through the side of the packaging. For breakfast.

Clearly they need food immediately upon waking up.



It reminded me a little of those gerbils Micah and I had when I was in sixth grade. They would also nibble through just about anything.

Always A Mess

My kids tried to make themselves some oatmeal for breakfast.



I'm not sure what all the various matchbox vehicles were doing - maybe Drew tried to send in his own form of cleanup crew.

Most of my days are spent running around putting out their little "fires" from around the house. It's this high-energy curiosity that wears even the best of us out.

But at least in the new house I won't have to constantly worry about them touching or breaking all of Grandmom's stuff anymore.

Labor Day is Sale Day

Andy promised me that this morning he'd do everything for the kids and I could sleep in. (Really it was his well-laid plan to sweet talk me into him hanging out with the guys after church last night.) So today started as a "Happy Labor Day" to me.

I did not feel one ounce of guilt about going back to sleep when I heard the usual "Mommy! Open the door!" coming from the peanut gallery.

The kids got both Daddy and Grandmom to take them out for a walk. Two walks in one morning, must've been a holiday. I did finally get up, got myself ready, and re-dressed Madeline (I knew that would be necessary when I saw what she was wearing and Andy said "look, I dressed her like a popsicle!" ...he was referring to her various brightly-colored items of unmatched clothing) so that she would be presentable when we made our daily appearance at Target.

Of course we had to go, it being Labor Day and all.

Oh, the Labor Day sales, y'all. I had finally narrowed down my search of an acceptable TV cabinet and what better time to buy something than when it is on sale? We're moving again soon, which I may have mentioned before, and so Sale Day was also the perfect time to pick up the kid bedding for the new rooms. And some fall clothes. And Q-tips.

It was a shopping day in heaven, as far as shopping days go. Well, except for the part where the Target employees had to actually get the armoire box loaded into my van. It was no small feat - I'll leave it at that. And then I didn't realize I had left the back hatch up and started driving off towards the road. I finally realized they were honking AT ME and stopped. A nice man ran over and returned the items that had fallen out the back. I had almost driven off without Madeline's new quilt.

It was all a touch embarrassing.

After we move and everything is in its place I'll have to host a virtual tour. And you can just pretend to be interested.

Zoo

The best way to see these pictures is to click on the album and then click on "slideshow." The second half is, in my opinion, a little more fun.

Philadelphia Zoo

A Night Out with Friends

Andy and I went out Friday night with some friends we knew before we moved here. They've moved around some, too, but are conveniently back in this area. We took the train into the city and ate some really good (and really authentic) Mexican food.

Pardon the slightly surprised-by-the-flash look. Ahem.


And I'm sure you were all very concerned to know that Andy still wears his pink shirt even though we no longer live in the South.

Here's one of E and A. For those of you that know 'em.


A is about 3 weeks from her due date so we were sneaking her sips of sangria - since it really was that good.

So good, the guys just just couldn't leave the rest of it sitting there.


And yes, we dared them.

And, I'm sure Andy will also really appreciate me posting this picture of him for all of Blogland to see, but you should have seen this fish when it started out on his plate. It was, um, very large and whole. I don't like fish. But I really don't like fish that are staring at me.


It didn't seem to bother Andy.

After dinner we took a cab to another part of town and had dessert and drinks at one of Andy's accounts. I ordered a funnel cake. Because I'm all about the fancy desserts, people.

It was the type of really fun evening that is a total blow to both the checkbook and any sort of diet.

And totally worth it.