I'm just posting to prove I still remember how. Things have been c-r-a-z-y since we moved, but in a good way. I don't like the heavy lifting of moving, but none of that was my responsibility (and it was done in one long day anyway). The past three weeks have been full of unpacking and organizing and decorating and that part I love. The downstairs was pretty straight within a few days but the upstairs is another story. There aren't enough hours in the day!
I'll be back to blogging soon. The stack of boxes is waning, and so is my enthusiasm for dealing with them. This weekend everything that's still boxed goes in the attic -- if we've gone this long without it, it can't be that important. Right?
Showing posts with label weekend update. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weekend update. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Yard sale bomb
Our yard sale Saturday bombed, and not in a bomb.com kind of way. This is the fourth yard sale Amanda and I have collaborated on in the past two years, and typically cars are lining up 30 or 45 minutes before the advertised start time. So this time, when we'd had only two or three buyers by 8:15 a.m., we knew we were in trouble.
Granted, it was January -- chilly, though not miserably cold, and not high season for yard saling. But I'm convinced the main reason for the pitiful showing is that The Pilot failed to put the ad online. It did go in the print edition, but leaving it off the website was a big deal. So far The Pilot has failed to return two voicemails.
The worst part is that even if they end up giving me a full refund of the cost of the ad, it was only $16, and that doesn't begin to make up for the time and effort we put into sorting and organizing and pricing and hauling borrowed tables and a clothing rack and putting up signs and spending the better part of a Saturday in the driveway.
It wasn't a total waste, though. I did make a little money. I did get rid of a lot of junk (by midmorning I wasn't charging for much of anything; I was thrilled that someone was willing to cart it all off for me). I did do a little shopping of my own from Amanda's and Jax's "junk" piles. And I did get to spend some much-needed, much-enjoyed one-on-one time with Amanda. All things considered, I really can't complain.
Granted, it was January -- chilly, though not miserably cold, and not high season for yard saling. But I'm convinced the main reason for the pitiful showing is that The Pilot failed to put the ad online. It did go in the print edition, but leaving it off the website was a big deal. So far The Pilot has failed to return two voicemails.
The worst part is that even if they end up giving me a full refund of the cost of the ad, it was only $16, and that doesn't begin to make up for the time and effort we put into sorting and organizing and pricing and hauling borrowed tables and a clothing rack and putting up signs and spending the better part of a Saturday in the driveway.
It wasn't a total waste, though. I did make a little money. I did get rid of a lot of junk (by midmorning I wasn't charging for much of anything; I was thrilled that someone was willing to cart it all off for me). I did do a little shopping of my own from Amanda's and Jax's "junk" piles. And I did get to spend some much-needed, much-enjoyed one-on-one time with Amanda. All things considered, I really can't complain.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
While I should be sleeping
I absolutely love the way our new house is coming together -- it has as much character as you can possibly hope for in brand-new construction -- and it just feels wrong to fill it with mirrors from Kirkland's and light fixtures from Lowe's. Therefore, I have spent an unhealthy amount of time the past couple of weeks searching for thrifty, awesome alternatives.
I've squeezed in a five- or 10-minute run through practically every thrift store I know of around here, but haven't found anything I couldn't live without. I've also done plenty of searching online, everything from Craigslist to Etsy to eBay to the big boxes. Although that's provided a lot of inspiration (and confidence -- other people have pulled off spray-painted chandeliers, so maybe I can too), most everything online is either ugly, boring or more than I want to spend.
We ended up getting really lucky with the light fixtures. After bemoaning the lack of "different" options at A Light Source in Aberdeen, the salesman took us in the back and showed us two gorgeous antique chandeliers they'd rescued from a home renovation and were rewiring. They sold them to us for $120 each. Score! I probably will end up painting one of them because it has great detail but the finish just looks rusty. The other has a nice oil-rubbed bronze finish and we'll leave that as it is.
Our dining room chandelier we actually did get from Lowe's and I love it. I'm hoping that it will hang high enough above the table that no one will notice that the "crystals" aren't really crystals. For that matter, I'm hoping that globe at the bottom is glass, not plastic -- we haven't taken it out of the box yet.
Mirrors should have been easier to find, because virtually any of them can be made beautiful with a little paint and elbow grease, but it's been a tough assignment, because we need two sets of matching mirrors (one pair in the master bathroom, one pair in the kids' bathroom). And mirrors don't typically come with matches in thrift stores. So I've pretty much decided we'll have to buy four of the cheapest, most generic mirrors we can find in sets of two and plan on painting them whenever I get around to it. However, if you know of any great, inexpensive mirror resources I might be overlooking, do tell.
Even though I couldn't buy any of it, all the cute stuff I ran across online gave me the energy to finally get to work painting a mirror I bought for $5 at the Habitat store awhile ago. A lot of Habitat's mirrors are pretty pricey, but I always seem to find cheap ones in the mix. In fact, the mirror that's probably going to go in our powder room is one I found there, painted, distressed, and now love. It was also $5. I left the price tag on the back just for fun.
I've squeezed in a five- or 10-minute run through practically every thrift store I know of around here, but haven't found anything I couldn't live without. I've also done plenty of searching online, everything from Craigslist to Etsy to eBay to the big boxes. Although that's provided a lot of inspiration (and confidence -- other people have pulled off spray-painted chandeliers, so maybe I can too), most everything online is either ugly, boring or more than I want to spend.
We ended up getting really lucky with the light fixtures. After bemoaning the lack of "different" options at A Light Source in Aberdeen, the salesman took us in the back and showed us two gorgeous antique chandeliers they'd rescued from a home renovation and were rewiring. They sold them to us for $120 each. Score! I probably will end up painting one of them because it has great detail but the finish just looks rusty. The other has a nice oil-rubbed bronze finish and we'll leave that as it is.
Our dining room chandelier we actually did get from Lowe's and I love it. I'm hoping that it will hang high enough above the table that no one will notice that the "crystals" aren't really crystals. For that matter, I'm hoping that globe at the bottom is glass, not plastic -- we haven't taken it out of the box yet.
Even though I couldn't buy any of it, all the cute stuff I ran across online gave me the energy to finally get to work painting a mirror I bought for $5 at the Habitat store awhile ago. A lot of Habitat's mirrors are pretty pricey, but I always seem to find cheap ones in the mix. In fact, the mirror that's probably going to go in our powder room is one I found there, painted, distressed, and now love. It was also $5. I left the price tag on the back just for fun.
Anyway, the mirror I bought more recently is going to go over a cute antique (maybe just old) vanity Matt and I claimed from the side of the road on our way home from Charlotte one day last fall. Eventually I'm going to paint that too. It didn't come with a mirror, but obviously that was easily taken care of. We picked up a matching dresser and not-matching but adorable stool from that same spot on the side of the road.
(I have a weakness for seeing potential in free and cheap things. Our garage is FULL of painting projects. Not only can we not park in it, we can't even walk through it. Thank goodness we're having a yard sale next week so other people with the same problem can take some of our junk to their garages.)
Tonight I was finally inspired to paint the vanity mirror, so that's what I'm doing right now, alternating between blogging and reading "The Great Gatsby" (for book club) while I wait for each coat to dry, and falling in love with Pandora all over again. It really gets me.
(I have a weakness for seeing potential in free and cheap things. Our garage is FULL of painting projects. Not only can we not park in it, we can't even walk through it. Thank goodness we're having a yard sale next week so other people with the same problem can take some of our junk to their garages.)
Tonight I was finally inspired to paint the vanity mirror, so that's what I'm doing right now, alternating between blogging and reading "The Great Gatsby" (for book club) while I wait for each coat to dry, and falling in love with Pandora all over again. It really gets me.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Christmas Eve Eve Eve (right?)
I keep not blogging because it doesn't seem worth doing when I only have five free minutes at a time. But if I stick to that strategy I won't blog again until January.
It has been a crazy couple of weeks! No matter how much we try to simplify Christmas every year, there is always so much to get done. Last week was the kids' last week in preschool before the holiday break so I scheduled like a Type A person and crammed as much as I could into those three mornings -- I didn't want to waste a minute. The nights were full, too, with the kids' Christmas program, our book club's Christmas party and both magazines' monthly final proofing.
This week I'm not getting as much checked off my to-do lists but I'm having a great time with the kids. [Quit here on Wednesday, am picking up again today.] The weather continues to be unseasonably pleasant and we have gone to a different park almost every day. Claire is a little monkey and Evan desparately wishes he could keep up. Yesterday I took the kids shopping so Claire could pick out a present for Matt and Evan. (Evan is "giving" her a three-pack of princess shoes; one of her beloved purple "heels" shattered when an adult accidentally stepped on it.) She chose a little monster truck for Evan.
She really wanted to give Matt an airplane placemat like the one Dad made for her, but it's one of a kind (a large laminated Delta ad that he amazingly had saved from an elementary school field trip to the airport, I believe). Then she decided a flower was just the thing for Matt -- a blue one.
So I took her to Michael's, figuring she could choose from the rows and rows of artificial flowers. She was meandering, pointing at first one flower then another, then we turned a corner and BAM -- the biggest fake bright-blue flower I've ever seen. The stem must be four feet tall and the petal part's as big as a dinner plate. It was the one she had to have. Naturally, it was not $1 like all the normal-size flowers; it was $15.
I got in line and told to the cashier that I had left my 50 percent off coupon at home because I was expecting to spend about $1. I pointed to Claire, proudly holding this shockingly blue flower that was taller than she is, and explained this was her Christmas gift to her dad. The cashier graciously agreed to give me the discount even without my coupon. Thank goodness for kind strangers. (They pop up everywhere when you have two toddlers in tow, by the way.)
This morning Mom and Dad kept the kids for a few hours while Matt and I made great progress picking out house stuff: tile, plumbing fixtures, exterior and most interior paint colors, and some lighting fixtures. The paint is the only part that stresses me out. So many choices! And it's impossible (for me) to look at a paint swatch and know what it will look like on a wall. The one thing I know is I want more color in this house. I am sick of having five shades of beige. If I pick the wrong colors ... we can always go back to beige in the next house.
I'm going to stop here. Christmas starts in an hour for us -- with Ron and co. tonight, then Mimi's tomorrow, then Terry and Dan's Saturday, then Granny and Granddaddy's Sunday. Merry Christmas!
P.S. Amanda's Angel Tree project is finished and was a HUGE success. Read all about it here, and thank you again to everyone who helped! And a great big shout-out to Amanda, who spent untold hours in the past month or so coordinating a million details, shopping, driving all over the county (and beyond) for pick-ups and deliveries, wrapping countless presents, and doing everything else that had to be done to make sure every person on that tree -- 147 of them! -- will have something to unwrap and make them smile on Christmas morning. She shrugs it off like it was no big deal, but IT WAS A BIG DEAL. You are incredible, Amanda!
It has been a crazy couple of weeks! No matter how much we try to simplify Christmas every year, there is always so much to get done. Last week was the kids' last week in preschool before the holiday break so I scheduled like a Type A person and crammed as much as I could into those three mornings -- I didn't want to waste a minute. The nights were full, too, with the kids' Christmas program, our book club's Christmas party and both magazines' monthly final proofing.
This week I'm not getting as much checked off my to-do lists but I'm having a great time with the kids. [Quit here on Wednesday, am picking up again today.] The weather continues to be unseasonably pleasant and we have gone to a different park almost every day. Claire is a little monkey and Evan desparately wishes he could keep up. Yesterday I took the kids shopping so Claire could pick out a present for Matt and Evan. (Evan is "giving" her a three-pack of princess shoes; one of her beloved purple "heels" shattered when an adult accidentally stepped on it.) She chose a little monster truck for Evan.
She really wanted to give Matt an airplane placemat like the one Dad made for her, but it's one of a kind (a large laminated Delta ad that he amazingly had saved from an elementary school field trip to the airport, I believe). Then she decided a flower was just the thing for Matt -- a blue one.
So I took her to Michael's, figuring she could choose from the rows and rows of artificial flowers. She was meandering, pointing at first one flower then another, then we turned a corner and BAM -- the biggest fake bright-blue flower I've ever seen. The stem must be four feet tall and the petal part's as big as a dinner plate. It was the one she had to have. Naturally, it was not $1 like all the normal-size flowers; it was $15.
I got in line and told to the cashier that I had left my 50 percent off coupon at home because I was expecting to spend about $1. I pointed to Claire, proudly holding this shockingly blue flower that was taller than she is, and explained this was her Christmas gift to her dad. The cashier graciously agreed to give me the discount even without my coupon. Thank goodness for kind strangers. (They pop up everywhere when you have two toddlers in tow, by the way.)
This morning Mom and Dad kept the kids for a few hours while Matt and I made great progress picking out house stuff: tile, plumbing fixtures, exterior and most interior paint colors, and some lighting fixtures. The paint is the only part that stresses me out. So many choices! And it's impossible (for me) to look at a paint swatch and know what it will look like on a wall. The one thing I know is I want more color in this house. I am sick of having five shades of beige. If I pick the wrong colors ... we can always go back to beige in the next house.
I'm going to stop here. Christmas starts in an hour for us -- with Ron and co. tonight, then Mimi's tomorrow, then Terry and Dan's Saturday, then Granny and Granddaddy's Sunday. Merry Christmas!
P.S. Amanda's Angel Tree project is finished and was a HUGE success. Read all about it here, and thank you again to everyone who helped! And a great big shout-out to Amanda, who spent untold hours in the past month or so coordinating a million details, shopping, driving all over the county (and beyond) for pick-ups and deliveries, wrapping countless presents, and doing everything else that had to be done to make sure every person on that tree -- 147 of them! -- will have something to unwrap and make them smile on Christmas morning. She shrugs it off like it was no big deal, but IT WAS A BIG DEAL. You are incredible, Amanda!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Thursday
It's been a lovely week. Thanksgiving got spread out for us this year, with three separate events with different segments of our families -- Sunday, Wednesday and then Thursday. I am all in favor of extending celebrations. We got to really enjoy being at each place, rather than watching the clock and rushing to the next stop. Plus, stuffing your face once a day for three days is much more pleasant than stuffing your face three times in one day.
I spent all of Thursday evening reading this month's book-club book, "The Man Who Was Thursday," by G.K. Chesterton. (Be careful reading reviews of this book -- spoilers are rampant.) It is brilliant -- smart and witty and thrilling. A few chapters in I already was thinking it was one of the best books I'd ever read, and it only got better. It's nothing I would have picked up on my own, so I'm really glad I was pushed into it. I'm also glad I had to buy it (none of the libraries had it) because I will be reading it again, maybe even before book club. It will definitely make for interesting discussion; I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.
Yesterday morning Mom and Dad kept the kids and I got to go running with Matt for the first time since I don't even know when. It was an especially nice treat because he was supposed to have to work that morning but at the last minute that got canceled. The weather could not have been more perfect. We ran his usual route, a trail from our house to the reservoir and back.
Last night we went to Sallie and Steven's, near Greensboro, where we also got to see Todd and Rhonda for, I think, the first time since last Thanksgiving, which is crazy. It's well-documented that I love that crowd, in any combination.
Today we got our Christmas tree and decorated the house, all four of us napped for a couple of luxurious hours, Evan got the hang of climbing down the stairs, and Matt made his amazing chili for dinner. And there's still one more day before Monday. I hope you've had a great Thanksgiving break, too. I love this time of year!
I spent all of Thursday evening reading this month's book-club book, "The Man Who Was Thursday," by G.K. Chesterton. (Be careful reading reviews of this book -- spoilers are rampant.) It is brilliant -- smart and witty and thrilling. A few chapters in I already was thinking it was one of the best books I'd ever read, and it only got better. It's nothing I would have picked up on my own, so I'm really glad I was pushed into it. I'm also glad I had to buy it (none of the libraries had it) because I will be reading it again, maybe even before book club. It will definitely make for interesting discussion; I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.
Yesterday morning Mom and Dad kept the kids and I got to go running with Matt for the first time since I don't even know when. It was an especially nice treat because he was supposed to have to work that morning but at the last minute that got canceled. The weather could not have been more perfect. We ran his usual route, a trail from our house to the reservoir and back.
Last night we went to Sallie and Steven's, near Greensboro, where we also got to see Todd and Rhonda for, I think, the first time since last Thanksgiving, which is crazy. It's well-documented that I love that crowd, in any combination.
Today we got our Christmas tree and decorated the house, all four of us napped for a couple of luxurious hours, Evan got the hang of climbing down the stairs, and Matt made his amazing chili for dinner. And there's still one more day before Monday. I hope you've had a great Thanksgiving break, too. I love this time of year!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
People I love
We had a fantastic time with our college friends last night. I have got to figure out a way to refer to this group. Years ago they were simply "Matt's guys," but now all of those guys have wives who have become dear friends as well, not to mention 13 kids (and counting) among the bunch of us. "Matt's guys" doesn't cover it anymore.
We started off outside in the afternoon and the weather was so perfect that we never moved inside, just popped in as needed for food and drinks and bathroom breaks. The fenced-in portion of our back yard was perfect for the group; we spread out blankets for the smaller kids and let the big kids run themselves ragged, while the adults talked over and around them.
You know I love it when friends don't rush off, and this group never does; we talked and the kids played until the sky was full of stars and kids were crashing left and right and we had to call it a night.
I am so thankful for lifetime friends like these. I love you all!
We started off outside in the afternoon and the weather was so perfect that we never moved inside, just popped in as needed for food and drinks and bathroom breaks. The fenced-in portion of our back yard was perfect for the group; we spread out blankets for the smaller kids and let the big kids run themselves ragged, while the adults talked over and around them.
You know I love it when friends don't rush off, and this group never does; we talked and the kids played until the sky was full of stars and kids were crashing left and right and we had to call it a night.
I am so thankful for lifetime friends like these. I love you all!
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Z is for zoo
Our day at the zoo was awesome. The weather was perfect, Claire's excitement was contagious and Evan was all giddy too even though he didn't know what was going on. We're so lucky to have the North Carolina Zoo less than an hour away, in Asheboro.
The pictures are less than awesome, because I took our el crappo camera instead of the office's nicer, bulkier one, but no big deal. Enjoy!
The pictures are less than awesome, because I took our el crappo camera instead of the office's nicer, bulkier one, but no big deal. Enjoy!
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| Note that her feet are not touching the ground. I have a dozen pictures like this. |
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| (Almost) always smiling. |
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| There was an "elephant tracking" helicopter -- just as exciting for Claire as the elephants. |
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| He was so tired, having missed his morning nap, but such a good sport. |
Sunday, June 26, 2011
What's going on
1. Our house is officially sold and after a whirlwind week we're in our new (temporary) house! Not all unpacked, not nearly organized, but moved in.
4. Joining the gym is the smartest thing I've done lately. For $9 extra per month I get unlimited childcare for both kids, and since we usually go for an hour five days a week, that's a ridiculously good deal. I'm all the more grateful for the time to myself since Mom's Morning Out is over. Two weeks ago, when I had a sinus infection that really beat me up, for a few days I was too sick to work out but I went to the gym anyway and read while dangling my feet in the pool. Good call.
Things aren't going to slow down quite yet -- Claire's second birthday party (WHAT?!) is on Friday, then on Saturday we're leaving for a week at the beach -- but for a few more hours we're still on vacation, Boston airport-style. I'm going to go read.
2. Kate and Vinny are married! Matt and I have been in lovely Brattleboro, Vt., since Friday and the restful weekend could not have come at a better time. Random New England towns never seem to disappoint us. Congratulations to the Healys!
3. Amanda and I had our third and final yard sale at our old house a couple of weeks ago. It was the most successful one yet. Our next-door neighbors were having a moving sale the same day that didn't start until 11 a.m., so we got a fresh burst of buyers just as they usually start to dwindle. Matt and I got rid of some big stuff that we really didn't want to move, like a broken grill, a barely functional TV, some old electronic equipment and a couple of big dying potted plants.
4. Joining the gym is the smartest thing I've done lately. For $9 extra per month I get unlimited childcare for both kids, and since we usually go for an hour five days a week, that's a ridiculously good deal. I'm all the more grateful for the time to myself since Mom's Morning Out is over. Two weeks ago, when I had a sinus infection that really beat me up, for a few days I was too sick to work out but I went to the gym anyway and read while dangling my feet in the pool. Good call.
Things aren't going to slow down quite yet -- Claire's second birthday party (WHAT?!) is on Friday, then on Saturday we're leaving for a week at the beach -- but for a few more hours we're still on vacation, Boston airport-style. I'm going to go read.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
A win-win for Matt and Jenn
After languishing unwanted on the market for more than a year, our house is suddenly a hot commodity. Over the weekend another family made a very good offer, so after another round of Saturday-night negotiations, we have a backup contract in place.
Then, yesterday, yet another agent called saying her buyers wanted to make an offer. Rather than being third in line for our house, they decided to move forward with their second choice. Sometimes all you can do is shake your head at the real estate game.
Our backup contract is void if our primary contract closes, as we expect it to, but it immediately goes into effect if our primary contract is terminated for some reason. The backup would close on July 1, so either way, the dates are perfect for moving into our rental house. It's a nice dose of extra security for us. Best of all, it looks like the backup buyers might want us to build them this house on another lot if they don't move into primary position.
When we move, we're going to experiment with canceling cable. We talk about this all the time but there always seems to be some (usually sports-related) reason not to bite the bullet quite yet. I think it's going to be easy. Matt isn't so sure.
He watches DVR'd TV while he runs, and he definitely gets our money's worth out of ESPN. But the number of shows I watch has dwindled to four, all on network TV: "Modern Family," "Parks and Recreation," "30 Rock" and "The Office." I literally never turn the TV on during the day and I don't like reruns. I really don't think I'll miss it.
Wireless Internet is another story. That, we're keeping (so I can blog while Matt watches TV, apparently).
Book club meets again tomorrow night -- yay! This month's book is "The Help," which coincidentally I had read right before the last meeting. I liked it a lot but I bet it would have been better if it were 100 pages shorter. Parts of it definitely felt a little debut-novelish. Although, let's be honest, if I wrote a debut novel and it turned out half as good, I'd be overjoyed.
Choppy post, sorry. Can I blame it on being distracted by the TV?
Then, yesterday, yet another agent called saying her buyers wanted to make an offer. Rather than being third in line for our house, they decided to move forward with their second choice. Sometimes all you can do is shake your head at the real estate game.
Our backup contract is void if our primary contract closes, as we expect it to, but it immediately goes into effect if our primary contract is terminated for some reason. The backup would close on July 1, so either way, the dates are perfect for moving into our rental house. It's a nice dose of extra security for us. Best of all, it looks like the backup buyers might want us to build them this house on another lot if they don't move into primary position.
When we move, we're going to experiment with canceling cable. We talk about this all the time but there always seems to be some (usually sports-related) reason not to bite the bullet quite yet. I think it's going to be easy. Matt isn't so sure.
He watches DVR'd TV while he runs, and he definitely gets our money's worth out of ESPN. But the number of shows I watch has dwindled to four, all on network TV: "Modern Family," "Parks and Recreation," "30 Rock" and "The Office." I literally never turn the TV on during the day and I don't like reruns. I really don't think I'll miss it.
Wireless Internet is another story. That, we're keeping (so I can blog while Matt watches TV, apparently).
Book club meets again tomorrow night -- yay! This month's book is "The Help," which coincidentally I had read right before the last meeting. I liked it a lot but I bet it would have been better if it were 100 pages shorter. Parts of it definitely felt a little debut-novelish. Although, let's be honest, if I wrote a debut novel and it turned out half as good, I'd be overjoyed.
Choppy post, sorry. Can I blame it on being distracted by the TV?
Monday, April 18, 2011
And happy birthday, Bri!
First of all, happy birthday to sweet Bri! She turns 2 today but the big celebration was a couple of weeks ago so Stephen's family from Georgia could be here for it. I actually took pictures but Matt has the camera so I won't upload them right now. (I also have a video of Claire singing "Happy Birthday" to Bri, but it's on the same camera.)
Other fun and not-as-fun happenings of late:
- We got a swing set for Claire. This was awhile ago, right before our New York trip. There are all kinds of elaborate (and pricey) swing sets out there, but the thought of paying up to $4,000 for one is mind-boggling. Matt had been keeping an eye out on Craigslist and we were hoping to get one for a few hundred, when one of the other Mom's Morning Out moms sent out an email offering hers for $50. It is not one of the fancy ones with a clubhouse and sandbox and rock-climbing walls, but it has a slide, two swings, a glider and a swinging pull-up bar -- and it was already assembled. For $50 we didn't even think twice.
- Stoneybrook was a couple of weekends ago (the same day as Bri's party) and I have to acknowledge that it was a disappointment. One problem was that it was colder than expected, like 55 instead of 75, so everyone was underdressed and chilly. It was bearable for the adults, but Claire was pretty miserable in a skirt and shirt. Thankfully we threw in a sweater at the last minute so she did have that. The worst part is that that night, when we were back home and unpacking, I found a long-sleeved shirt and leggings in her bag -- her extra MMO outfit. THAT was frustrating. The extra layer would have made a huge difference and it was about a foot away from me all day.
The second problem was that Evan could not fall asleep amid all the distractions (and coldness, and without his crib) and if there's one thing he can't handle, it's being overtired. Matt did eventually lull him to sleep for a short nap and things improved a little after that. Still, the day was just exhausting. I am used to things that used to be 100 percent fun being about 50/50 fun and work now that we have kids, and that's fine with me. But Stoneybrook was about 100 percent work. We'll try again next year.
- Those skinny jeans I got at H&M in New York? They mega-ripped after three wears and two washes. We're talking a one-foot tear from the butt almost to the back of the knees. Thank goodness it happened while I was in my closet (bending down to put on shoes) instead of almost anywhere else. Of course I wrote a letter to H&M. I don't expect inexpensive jeans to last forever but they shouldn't be disposable.
I'm going to cut this short to go hang out with the Claire -- sounds like her nap is over. Sometime in the near future I'll try to post pictures of some of these events (but not the ripped jeans).
Other fun and not-as-fun happenings of late:
- We got a swing set for Claire. This was awhile ago, right before our New York trip. There are all kinds of elaborate (and pricey) swing sets out there, but the thought of paying up to $4,000 for one is mind-boggling. Matt had been keeping an eye out on Craigslist and we were hoping to get one for a few hundred, when one of the other Mom's Morning Out moms sent out an email offering hers for $50. It is not one of the fancy ones with a clubhouse and sandbox and rock-climbing walls, but it has a slide, two swings, a glider and a swinging pull-up bar -- and it was already assembled. For $50 we didn't even think twice.
- Stoneybrook was a couple of weekends ago (the same day as Bri's party) and I have to acknowledge that it was a disappointment. One problem was that it was colder than expected, like 55 instead of 75, so everyone was underdressed and chilly. It was bearable for the adults, but Claire was pretty miserable in a skirt and shirt. Thankfully we threw in a sweater at the last minute so she did have that. The worst part is that that night, when we were back home and unpacking, I found a long-sleeved shirt and leggings in her bag -- her extra MMO outfit. THAT was frustrating. The extra layer would have made a huge difference and it was about a foot away from me all day.
The second problem was that Evan could not fall asleep amid all the distractions (and coldness, and without his crib) and if there's one thing he can't handle, it's being overtired. Matt did eventually lull him to sleep for a short nap and things improved a little after that. Still, the day was just exhausting. I am used to things that used to be 100 percent fun being about 50/50 fun and work now that we have kids, and that's fine with me. But Stoneybrook was about 100 percent work. We'll try again next year.
- Those skinny jeans I got at H&M in New York? They mega-ripped after three wears and two washes. We're talking a one-foot tear from the butt almost to the back of the knees. Thank goodness it happened while I was in my closet (bending down to put on shoes) instead of almost anywhere else. Of course I wrote a letter to H&M. I don't expect inexpensive jeans to last forever but they shouldn't be disposable.
I'm going to cut this short to go hang out with the Claire -- sounds like her nap is over. Sometime in the near future I'll try to post pictures of some of these events (but not the ripped jeans).
Saturday, March 5, 2011
I'm a Tar Heel born ...
Our house looks like a war zone right now. It's been getting progressively worse for the past few days. Evan's still pretty harmless in this regard, but with the Claire, a little mess can spiral out of control quickly. Clothes, toys, miscellaneous contents of drawers and cabinets ... Last night we didn't get in until late, and then this morning I was out of the house by about 7:15 for the ShamRock 'N' Roll (benefiting our favorite school, Sandhills Farm Life). As soon as it was over we met up with Matt's cousins and their kids, and when we got home from that all four of us crashed for almost two hours.
My point is I didn't have any free time to clean up today. So naturally, we got a dreaded "driveway call" about 15 minutes after family naptime -- an agent calling from our driveway. Fortunately, these buyers were content to wander around our back yard and supposedly will make an appointment to see the inside next weekend.
I had no idea what to expect with the race this morning, since I'm pretty sure I haven't run a race since Claire was born. After lots of deliberating I decided to leave both kids at home with Matt (thanks, babe!) and just run it as hard as I could. I was pleasantly surprised to find that running without pushing two babies, one of whom usually insists on conversing with me the entire way, I felt practically buoyant. Most of it was probably mental. I ran the 5K in 22:12, for a 7:10 pace, which is one of my best times in the past few years. Mainly it made me feel relieved, like even though running with the double-stroller is very hard and not getting any easier, it's not because I'm in terrible shape.
Amanda ran the 5K too and you can read her account here but she did awesome! Especially considering her back story -- except for last-minute training this week, she hadn't run three miles at once in the past six years. Then she showed up and ran the whole thing without walking, placed 8th in her age group, and five minutes after the race said she felt like running it again. I'm so proud of you, chica-rica!
I have a strange bad habit of hassling friends to start blogs (see links at top right) and hooray, a couple more have succumbed! Amy is blogging here, Katie's blogging here and Meg remains underlineless but not for long. Sonya, beware, I'm going to start nagging you next.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Stuff
It's been a week or so since we started letting Evan cry it out at night and it has been great. I'm willing to feed him up to every three hours, but I'm done replacing his pacifier or nursing him back to sleep if a sound startles him or whatever.
I was prepared for some long evenings at first -- I remember Matt and me sitting on the deck with wine and a stopwatch when we started letting Claire cry at night because it was so hard to listen to her. But Evan's not cried more than about 20 minutes at a time, usually more like 5 minutes. The best part is, he gets it: He's sleeping 12- or 13-hour stretches now -- about five hours at the beginning of the night, then three or four hours at a time until the morning.
So: Around 7 every night, Matt puts Claire to bed, I put Evan to bed, and 10 or 15 minutes later Matt and I reconvene with the whole evening to ourselves. I can hardly express how wonderful that is. Very, very, very wonderful.
Other stuff that's been happening while I haven't been blogging:
We hung out with some of our college peeps tonight. It was a great time, as always. Five years ago, there was one kid in this bunch. Tonight there were 10 adults, 10 kids and 1more in utero. Craziness. All the kids played together really well. I am thankful that God made kids capable of entertaining themselves and each other at such young ages, leaving the adults to have actual conversation. I just love this group. We left home a little early and squeezed in a trip to the Trader Joe's close to the Herndons' house, stocking up on beer, wine, coffee and cards. I love Trader Joe's too.
I finally finished the book Matt gave me for Christmas, "Freedom." It was great in similar ways to "The Corrections" (also by Jonathan Franzen). It just took me a long time to read because I only got to pull it out while breastfeeding. Now I'm reading "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" -- along with the whole world, I know, but Matt read it way back on our Maine trip in 2008 and has been after me to read it ever since. Our literary tastes don't overlap much, but he's pretty good at predicting what I'll like.
I'm running my first race since Claire was born (I think) next Saturday. I probably would have bailed but Amanda signed up so I did too. It's not going to be a pretty effort. I'm trying to decide whether I should ask Matt to keep both the kids while I run (so I might finish with a halfway decent time) or if I should run with both of them in the double-stroller (so I have a good excuse for being extremely slow). Or split the difference and run with just one -- but which one?
We've had some really promising showings of our house lately. No offers yet, but lots of talk. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Last and best, amazing news: Matt and I get to spend a weekend in New York City with Jacob and Carrie and Stephen and Kara and NO KIDS repeat NO KIDS in a month! Biggest thanks ever due to Mom and Dad, who are going to keep Claire and Evan the whole time. I almost didn't even ask them because it's such a huge favor. Then I decided to ask them, because honestly, I was giddy at the prospect of this getaway.
I asked Mom to try to think of some way we could compensate them for this. She said, "Our payment is getting to spend time with these grandbabies." I said, "Mo-om, come on." She said, "OK. You just wait till you have grandchildren." Wow. Just -- wow. Have I ever mentioned that my parents are incredible?
I was prepared for some long evenings at first -- I remember Matt and me sitting on the deck with wine and a stopwatch when we started letting Claire cry at night because it was so hard to listen to her. But Evan's not cried more than about 20 minutes at a time, usually more like 5 minutes. The best part is, he gets it: He's sleeping 12- or 13-hour stretches now -- about five hours at the beginning of the night, then three or four hours at a time until the morning.
So: Around 7 every night, Matt puts Claire to bed, I put Evan to bed, and 10 or 15 minutes later Matt and I reconvene with the whole evening to ourselves. I can hardly express how wonderful that is. Very, very, very wonderful.
Other stuff that's been happening while I haven't been blogging:
We hung out with some of our college peeps tonight. It was a great time, as always. Five years ago, there was one kid in this bunch. Tonight there were 10 adults, 10 kids and 1more in utero. Craziness. All the kids played together really well. I am thankful that God made kids capable of entertaining themselves and each other at such young ages, leaving the adults to have actual conversation. I just love this group. We left home a little early and squeezed in a trip to the Trader Joe's close to the Herndons' house, stocking up on beer, wine, coffee and cards. I love Trader Joe's too.
I finally finished the book Matt gave me for Christmas, "Freedom." It was great in similar ways to "The Corrections" (also by Jonathan Franzen). It just took me a long time to read because I only got to pull it out while breastfeeding. Now I'm reading "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" -- along with the whole world, I know, but Matt read it way back on our Maine trip in 2008 and has been after me to read it ever since. Our literary tastes don't overlap much, but he's pretty good at predicting what I'll like.
I'm running my first race since Claire was born (I think) next Saturday. I probably would have bailed but Amanda signed up so I did too. It's not going to be a pretty effort. I'm trying to decide whether I should ask Matt to keep both the kids while I run (so I might finish with a halfway decent time) or if I should run with both of them in the double-stroller (so I have a good excuse for being extremely slow). Or split the difference and run with just one -- but which one?
We've had some really promising showings of our house lately. No offers yet, but lots of talk. Keep your fingers crossed for us!
Last and best, amazing news: Matt and I get to spend a weekend in New York City with Jacob and Carrie and Stephen and Kara and NO KIDS repeat NO KIDS in a month! Biggest thanks ever due to Mom and Dad, who are going to keep Claire and Evan the whole time. I almost didn't even ask them because it's such a huge favor. Then I decided to ask them, because honestly, I was giddy at the prospect of this getaway.
I asked Mom to try to think of some way we could compensate them for this. She said, "Our payment is getting to spend time with these grandbabies." I said, "Mo-om, come on." She said, "OK. You just wait till you have grandchildren." Wow. Just -- wow. Have I ever mentioned that my parents are incredible?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Good stuff
Well, this is a rarity: a night to myself. Claire and even Evan are asleep (thanks to the SwaddleMe blanket -- more on that in a minute), and Matt's watching the Duke game with the guys. I'm eating excellent soup that's been stewing since early afternoon -- Libba's recipe -- and actually blogging and, after a shower (in the bonus room, so Evan stays asleep), I'm going to dive into the book Matt gave me for Christmas. It's "Freedom," by Jonathan Franzen, and it's really good. Two years ago I would have read it in one good long weekend, but my free time lately is such that I'm only about one-fourth of the way through it.
After what felt like an extended period consisting of very few "regular" weeks -- due to Evan's birth, Thanksgiving and Christmas, visiting family in Atlanta, and then snow days -- it is nice to have some routine return to our days. (That felt familiar as I was typing it, and sure enough, I wrote almost the same thing a couple of weeks ago, but before the snow days threw things out of whack again.)
Evan is still not going to win any sleeping awards, but he is doing so much better. After witnessing his exhausted flailing Friday night, Meg gave me the SwaddleMe blanket that her own daughter was using -- literally, she removed it from a soundly sleeping Charli and handed it to me. Every night since then, Evan has actually gone to sleep for the night around 7 p.m., in his cradle (not the swing), and stayed asleep for three to five hours before waking up for the first night feeding. (After that he wakes up to eat every two hours, but this is still huge progress.)
What this means is that by the grace of God we've slipped into a wonderful pattern in which Claire and Evan are both in bed from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., give or take a few minutes -- and Matt and I have our nights back. I know Evan still has some rough nights ahead of him, probably a lot of them, but at least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The annoying part of this story is that Sonya offered me a SwaddleMe blanket of Belle's, like, six weeks ago, but I didn't take her up on it. Why not? Who can say? I could kick myself.
Two other things have been really nice about the past couple of weeks. One is that Matt and I both have gotten a lot of running in. We didn't make a specific New Year's resolution about it, but after all the sloth and gluttony of the holidays we were both ready to hit it hard. We've both run almost every day this month -- weekdays he runs before work, and I run after he gets home; weekends we go whenever we can -- and it feels SO good to be getting back in shape. I know I'm not a chunky girl, but the fact is that no matter your size, if you're five pounds too heavy to fit comfortably into the clothes in your closet, it's not a good feeling. And that's where I'm at right now. So I'll be glad to leave that feeling behind as soon as possible.
I've been running outside mostly, for a few reasons -- I go farther but the time passes faster; the scenery and daydreaming are better than TV; I feel more removed from and therefore less responsible for the possibly screaming children inside the house; and it just feels like a better, harder workout. Also, there's something about braving somewhat adverse conditions (cold weather/pregnancy/early mornings, etc.) to run that makes me feel mentally stronger, like a "real" runner, and always results in a better run for me. I haven't figured out exactly how that works yet, but I do know running on a treadmill under a ceiling fan while watching "The Millionaire Matchmaker" does not have the same effect.
The other thing I've really enjoyed lately is getting to reconnect with a bunch of friends we didn't get to see much in the blur that was November through early January. Between girls' nights and one-on-one lunches and couples' dinners and playdates, I've gotten to spend time with most of my favorites -- the locals, anyway -- with a couple of notable exceptions (LMG!). I -- make that we, because Matt's even worse than I am -- can be introverted and antisocial and lazy, but it's true that friendships are worth the effort, and I'm very thankful for our peeps.
And NOW I will go take a shower and read.
P.S. I almost forgot! Amanda inspired me, in this post, to call Time Warner Cable today and request a discount. They cut our monthly bill by $30, just for asking. Again, should have done it forever ago, but better late than never.
After what felt like an extended period consisting of very few "regular" weeks -- due to Evan's birth, Thanksgiving and Christmas, visiting family in Atlanta, and then snow days -- it is nice to have some routine return to our days. (That felt familiar as I was typing it, and sure enough, I wrote almost the same thing a couple of weeks ago, but before the snow days threw things out of whack again.)
Evan is still not going to win any sleeping awards, but he is doing so much better. After witnessing his exhausted flailing Friday night, Meg gave me the SwaddleMe blanket that her own daughter was using -- literally, she removed it from a soundly sleeping Charli and handed it to me. Every night since then, Evan has actually gone to sleep for the night around 7 p.m., in his cradle (not the swing), and stayed asleep for three to five hours before waking up for the first night feeding. (After that he wakes up to eat every two hours, but this is still huge progress.)
What this means is that by the grace of God we've slipped into a wonderful pattern in which Claire and Evan are both in bed from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., give or take a few minutes -- and Matt and I have our nights back. I know Evan still has some rough nights ahead of him, probably a lot of them, but at least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The annoying part of this story is that Sonya offered me a SwaddleMe blanket of Belle's, like, six weeks ago, but I didn't take her up on it. Why not? Who can say? I could kick myself.
Two other things have been really nice about the past couple of weeks. One is that Matt and I both have gotten a lot of running in. We didn't make a specific New Year's resolution about it, but after all the sloth and gluttony of the holidays we were both ready to hit it hard. We've both run almost every day this month -- weekdays he runs before work, and I run after he gets home; weekends we go whenever we can -- and it feels SO good to be getting back in shape. I know I'm not a chunky girl, but the fact is that no matter your size, if you're five pounds too heavy to fit comfortably into the clothes in your closet, it's not a good feeling. And that's where I'm at right now. So I'll be glad to leave that feeling behind as soon as possible.
I've been running outside mostly, for a few reasons -- I go farther but the time passes faster; the scenery and daydreaming are better than TV; I feel more removed from and therefore less responsible for the possibly screaming children inside the house; and it just feels like a better, harder workout. Also, there's something about braving somewhat adverse conditions (cold weather/pregnancy/early mornings, etc.) to run that makes me feel mentally stronger, like a "real" runner, and always results in a better run for me. I haven't figured out exactly how that works yet, but I do know running on a treadmill under a ceiling fan while watching "The Millionaire Matchmaker" does not have the same effect.
The other thing I've really enjoyed lately is getting to reconnect with a bunch of friends we didn't get to see much in the blur that was November through early January. Between girls' nights and one-on-one lunches and couples' dinners and playdates, I've gotten to spend time with most of my favorites -- the locals, anyway -- with a couple of notable exceptions (LMG!). I -- make that we, because Matt's even worse than I am -- can be introverted and antisocial and lazy, but it's true that friendships are worth the effort, and I'm very thankful for our peeps.
And NOW I will go take a shower and read.
P.S. I almost forgot! Amanda inspired me, in this post, to call Time Warner Cable today and request a discount. They cut our monthly bill by $30, just for asking. Again, should have done it forever ago, but better late than never.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Tidbits
Everyone else is asleep, but if I go to sleep Evan will wake up (I've spent the last hour and a half trying to disprove this), so here I am at my blog. Which would more accurately be named something like "Withering Grass."
Ninety-five percent of my energy and activities the past five weeks have involved Evan, Claire or both, but I do not want this blog to become a "mommy blog." Boooring. So here's a rundown of the other 5 percent or so of my life lately.
My fantasy football team, which kicked off the season with a dismal 0-6 record, is making a legendary comeback. I am on a seven-game winning streak (including shattering Matt's dreams of a legendary season of his own -- an undefeated one). With one week to go in the regular season I am in fourth place and if I win this week I'll make it to the playoffs for the first time. I would oh-so-love to play (and beat) Matt for the tournament championship.
I had a buyer go under contract for a vacant lot last week and he is closing tomorrow, which I think is the fastest closing I've ever had. Getting it all done last week made for a stressful few days, but Matt handled every aspect of it that I didn't have to do myself. And what great timing for a small cash infusion.
The magazine I edit for flew in some of its writers for a writers' meeting today and I got to talk to them about AP style and general writing and usage points. How much did I love discouraging overuse of the exclamation point? And encouraging use of a simple "he said"? So much.
Matt's birthday was Monday. Everyone who asked him what he wanted for his birthday quickly regretted it, because he had an answer: babysitting for both babies so we could have a date night. We got FOUR date nights out of the deal! We cashed in one on Monday night (thank you, Carrie, Jacob and Riley!) and will stagger the others.
I got a 25 percent discount on our newspaper subscription renewal just for asking. I'm sure I could have saved more by letting it expire and then re-signing as a new customer, but I would have had to go without it for a month to count as a new customer. Besides, I love getting a newspaper; reading it online is not the same. Having a subscription used to feel like a luxury, but lately it feels more like supporting a favorite nonprofit. Sad times for newspapers.
I don't know how this is possible, but I discovered Pandora just this week. I had heard of it but never checked it out, I guess. I am hooked. It's like a magical radio.
I hear Claire waking up. I think I'll go join her and Matt for breakfast. Coffee time!
Ninety-five percent of my energy and activities the past five weeks have involved Evan, Claire or both, but I do not want this blog to become a "mommy blog." Boooring. So here's a rundown of the other 5 percent or so of my life lately.
My fantasy football team, which kicked off the season with a dismal 0-6 record, is making a legendary comeback. I am on a seven-game winning streak (including shattering Matt's dreams of a legendary season of his own -- an undefeated one). With one week to go in the regular season I am in fourth place and if I win this week I'll make it to the playoffs for the first time. I would oh-so-love to play (and beat) Matt for the tournament championship.
I had a buyer go under contract for a vacant lot last week and he is closing tomorrow, which I think is the fastest closing I've ever had. Getting it all done last week made for a stressful few days, but Matt handled every aspect of it that I didn't have to do myself. And what great timing for a small cash infusion.
The magazine I edit for flew in some of its writers for a writers' meeting today and I got to talk to them about AP style and general writing and usage points. How much did I love discouraging overuse of the exclamation point? And encouraging use of a simple "he said"? So much.
Matt's birthday was Monday. Everyone who asked him what he wanted for his birthday quickly regretted it, because he had an answer: babysitting for both babies so we could have a date night. We got FOUR date nights out of the deal! We cashed in one on Monday night (thank you, Carrie, Jacob and Riley!) and will stagger the others.
I got a 25 percent discount on our newspaper subscription renewal just for asking. I'm sure I could have saved more by letting it expire and then re-signing as a new customer, but I would have had to go without it for a month to count as a new customer. Besides, I love getting a newspaper; reading it online is not the same. Having a subscription used to feel like a luxury, but lately it feels more like supporting a favorite nonprofit. Sad times for newspapers.
I don't know how this is possible, but I discovered Pandora just this week. I had heard of it but never checked it out, I guess. I am hooked. It's like a magical radio.
I hear Claire waking up. I think I'll go join her and Matt for breakfast. Coffee time!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Claire's taking a long nap, so ...
Two posts in one day, what? This is what happens when you go on "maternity leave" (the work-at-home-mom version) because surely you're about to have a baby -- and then the baby procrastinates.
So, let's see. This weekend was so great. Thanks to Ron, Matt and I got to go out without Claire on Friday AND Sunday nights. Friday night Stephen had people over for a cookout and a big campfire with drinks (I had O'Doul's for the first time -- not bad), s'mores, and lots of experimenting with different materials in the fire. Lots of pyromaniacs with a buzz. It was a really fun night. I don't think there's much better than literally uncontrollable laughter.
Saturday we had planned to go to Raleigh to return some stuff, poke around the mall, eat at Remington Grill and just get out of the house, but we weren't really in the mood to drive so instead we stuck around home. Yesterday, after church and chili and football, Matt and I went on weekend date night No. 2. Many thanks to Ron -- even though his fun was cut short by Claire crashing at 6:30 p.m. It is so nice to be out by ourselves sometimes.
Great news -- my fantasy football team finally won a game this week! I have avoided writing about my fantasy team this season because it is just depressing. Only Matt truly understands. I have a fantastic team -- my only weak spot is tight end, which hardly matters -- but almost unbelievable bad luck with matchups. As of last week (because this week's results aren't final until after Monday Night Football), I was 0-6, dead last, bottom of the heap. But I only had three fewer points than the guy in second place with a 5-1 record. It is quite discouraging. Anyway, at least my losing streak is broken now. Gooo, Adrenaline!
Last week Matt was so sick with what seemed like the flu, but wasn't because it lasted only one day, that he stayed home from work for the first time I can remember. All night the night it hit him he was feverish and back and forth from sweats to chills. And he had a splitting headache for basically 24 hours. All day the three of us just camped out at home and except for Matt's utter misery, it was a nice change of pace. We read about a million books and ate popsicles and stayed in our pajamas and didn't leave the house. It felt like a snow day.
I got my flu shot the next day. I had been meaning to anyway. Claire got hers a few weeks ago. Matt is still unprotected.
Also last week I got my hair cut pretty short (too short for a ponytail) and highlighted. I'm really glad I got that out of the way before Evan's birth. I like this length, I just wish I knew how to style it. But realistically, the bigger problem is that I'm lazy. Also, I don't like the feel of products (mousse, hairspray, etc.) in my hair. So my hair will always look just good enough. It's a price I'm willing to pay.
I finally broke down and bought a few of my favorite parenting/child-development books. I kept renewing them at the library or borrowing them from friends and finally it was obvious they were resources I would continue returning to. Also, I wanted to be able to underline the really good parts. :)
I think most pop-psychology books are stupid, whether they're about relationships or raising children or living your best life now or whatever. I've given many parenting books a chance but only finished the handful that I didn't think were completely ridiculous and based on the author's opinion/agenda/personal experience. By far, my two favorites are "The First Three Years of Life" by Burton White and "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. Excellent books. Many thanks to the friends who recommended them!
This is way long. I should go clean the shower or something.
So, let's see. This weekend was so great. Thanks to Ron, Matt and I got to go out without Claire on Friday AND Sunday nights. Friday night Stephen had people over for a cookout and a big campfire with drinks (I had O'Doul's for the first time -- not bad), s'mores, and lots of experimenting with different materials in the fire. Lots of pyromaniacs with a buzz. It was a really fun night. I don't think there's much better than literally uncontrollable laughter.
Saturday we had planned to go to Raleigh to return some stuff, poke around the mall, eat at Remington Grill and just get out of the house, but we weren't really in the mood to drive so instead we stuck around home. Yesterday, after church and chili and football, Matt and I went on weekend date night No. 2. Many thanks to Ron -- even though his fun was cut short by Claire crashing at 6:30 p.m. It is so nice to be out by ourselves sometimes.Great news -- my fantasy football team finally won a game this week! I have avoided writing about my fantasy team this season because it is just depressing. Only Matt truly understands. I have a fantastic team -- my only weak spot is tight end, which hardly matters -- but almost unbelievable bad luck with matchups. As of last week (because this week's results aren't final until after Monday Night Football), I was 0-6, dead last, bottom of the heap. But I only had three fewer points than the guy in second place with a 5-1 record. It is quite discouraging. Anyway, at least my losing streak is broken now. Gooo, Adrenaline!
Last week Matt was so sick with what seemed like the flu, but wasn't because it lasted only one day, that he stayed home from work for the first time I can remember. All night the night it hit him he was feverish and back and forth from sweats to chills. And he had a splitting headache for basically 24 hours. All day the three of us just camped out at home and except for Matt's utter misery, it was a nice change of pace. We read about a million books and ate popsicles and stayed in our pajamas and didn't leave the house. It felt like a snow day.
I got my flu shot the next day. I had been meaning to anyway. Claire got hers a few weeks ago. Matt is still unprotected.
Also last week I got my hair cut pretty short (too short for a ponytail) and highlighted. I'm really glad I got that out of the way before Evan's birth. I like this length, I just wish I knew how to style it. But realistically, the bigger problem is that I'm lazy. Also, I don't like the feel of products (mousse, hairspray, etc.) in my hair. So my hair will always look just good enough. It's a price I'm willing to pay.
I finally broke down and bought a few of my favorite parenting/child-development books. I kept renewing them at the library or borrowing them from friends and finally it was obvious they were resources I would continue returning to. Also, I wanted to be able to underline the really good parts. :)
I think most pop-psychology books are stupid, whether they're about relationships or raising children or living your best life now or whatever. I've given many parenting books a chance but only finished the handful that I didn't think were completely ridiculous and based on the author's opinion/agenda/personal experience. By far, my two favorites are "The First Three Years of Life" by Burton White and "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. Excellent books. Many thanks to the friends who recommended them!
This is way long. I should go clean the shower or something.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Yada yada
I don't really have a lot to say but Claire is asleep, the house is relatively clean, no deadlines are looming and it's time for a change of scenery at the top of the blog. I hate when you check a blog over and over and see the same title forever -- you know who you are! -- and right now I'm that negligent blogger.
We had a fun weekend without doing too much. Saturday morning Amanda and I had a yard sale, our second. For whatever reason I thought it felt more laidback than the one we had last fall. I didn't price any of my stuff, I just let people make me offers, but if they balked at that (many of them did, as Dad predicted) I'd throw out a number, and if they balked at the number I'd add "Or whatever you want to pay. Half that?"
I made $60, not much if you think of it on a per-hour basis, but I had fun doing it and hanging out with Amanda, and everything that sold was stuff I just wanted to get rid of. The money was bonus. A woman from a charity that's having a yard sale in a few weeks came by after the yard sale and picked up everything we didn't sell, so none of it came back into the house/garage/attic and I didn't even have to pack it up and drop it off at the Coalition.
Saturday night Ron kept Claire so Matt and I could go on a date. It was wonderful. Our conundrum is that the free babysitters (grandparents) actually enjoy playing with Claire -- they want her to be awake, not asleep, when they keep her -- so we feel guilty asking them to keep her at night when she usually goes to sleep by 7 or 7:30. On the other hand, we're cheap, and it hurts to pay a high schooler even $7 or $8 per hour to hang out and watch TV while Claire sleeps.
However, after a few nights out without Claire recently (thanks to Ron) we have decided it's totally worth paying someone if we need to, at least a couple of times a month. I certainly had my share of easy babysitting nights during college, where the kids would be asleep by 8 and I'd spend the next three or four hours getting paid to do homework or catch up on reading. I guess it's payback time.
We had a fun weekend without doing too much. Saturday morning Amanda and I had a yard sale, our second. For whatever reason I thought it felt more laidback than the one we had last fall. I didn't price any of my stuff, I just let people make me offers, but if they balked at that (many of them did, as Dad predicted) I'd throw out a number, and if they balked at the number I'd add "Or whatever you want to pay. Half that?"
I made $60, not much if you think of it on a per-hour basis, but I had fun doing it and hanging out with Amanda, and everything that sold was stuff I just wanted to get rid of. The money was bonus. A woman from a charity that's having a yard sale in a few weeks came by after the yard sale and picked up everything we didn't sell, so none of it came back into the house/garage/attic and I didn't even have to pack it up and drop it off at the Coalition.
Saturday night Ron kept Claire so Matt and I could go on a date. It was wonderful. Our conundrum is that the free babysitters (grandparents) actually enjoy playing with Claire -- they want her to be awake, not asleep, when they keep her -- so we feel guilty asking them to keep her at night when she usually goes to sleep by 7 or 7:30. On the other hand, we're cheap, and it hurts to pay a high schooler even $7 or $8 per hour to hang out and watch TV while Claire sleeps.
However, after a few nights out without Claire recently (thanks to Ron) we have decided it's totally worth paying someone if we need to, at least a couple of times a month. I certainly had my share of easy babysitting nights during college, where the kids would be asleep by 8 and I'd spend the next three or four hours getting paid to do homework or catch up on reading. I guess it's payback time.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Junk drawer
Matt was up at 3:15 this morning to make it to Raleigh in time for a very early flight to Chicago for Bill's bachelor party weekend. The extreme earliness was necessary for them to arrive in time to go to a baseball game. Plus, it means they're getting two full days in the city (they arrived at 7:30 a.m. local time) instead of today being mainly a travel day.
I am not cut out for single motherhood, or single anything, for that matter, but I have enough friends who are military wives that I'm not about to complain about being on my own with Claire for one weekend. Last time Matt went out of town Claire and I left too, and I considered doing the same this time -- at least a day trip tomorrow -- but decided against it. Claire hasn't slept in the car for about a month, which is usually fine, but if she gets overly tired or bored, watch out. It's the only time I wish she still used a pacifier.
She always calms down if I sing or recite books to her (I would have memorized James in no time flat if it rhymed), and it's one thing to do that for a few minutes at a time, but much longer and I might go crazy. All that to say, we're sticking close to home this weekend.
I am not cut out for single motherhood, or single anything, for that matter, but I have enough friends who are military wives that I'm not about to complain about being on my own with Claire for one weekend. Last time Matt went out of town Claire and I left too, and I considered doing the same this time -- at least a day trip tomorrow -- but decided against it. Claire hasn't slept in the car for about a month, which is usually fine, but if she gets overly tired or bored, watch out. It's the only time I wish she still used a pacifier.
She always calms down if I sing or recite books to her (I would have memorized James in no time flat if it rhymed), and it's one thing to do that for a few minutes at a time, but much longer and I might go crazy. All that to say, we're sticking close to home this weekend.
Monday, May 10, 2010
In brief
I'm getting in a bad habit of starting posts, getting interrupted and then never finishing/publishing them. By the time I return to them they're usually so outdated it's not worth it. And generally speaking I try to make this blog at least somewhat interesting to at least some of the readers. But it also serves as a journal of sorts for me, so before I forget ...
- Claire made it all the way through Mom's Morning Out last week, and she has made it through Sunday school and church two weeks in a row. Not perfectly -- she still cries some and I think requires a lot of one-on-one distraction from a variety of gracious and patient volunteers -- but I'm very hopeful that her separation anxiety is starting to improve.
- Mom, Amanda and I (no babies! Thank you, Matt and Stephen and Dad and Ron!) went to Chapel Hill Friday and Saturday for a miniature version of our annual girls' trip, a tradition we began the year after Mom's liver transplant.
Before babies, we had slightly more ambitious destinations (New York City in 2008, Greenville, S.C., last year), and we stayed for three or four days. Next year, with four babies between Amanda and me, our "trip" will probably be a morning in Carthage, but I'll still enjoy it. Any time is a good time with the two of them.
- I finally used that massage gift certificate Matt gave me for Christmas, thus checking No. 39 off my 101-things list. Being pregnant again has already rendered me unable to complete a few other items (e.g., give blood at least five times and visit an amusement park -- I'm not going to go if I can't ride the roller coasters). I did not want a soon-to-appear baby bump to get in the way of the massage. Thanks again, babe!
- The details aren't finalized yet, but this store in Knoxville, Tenn., is probably going to sell my picture frames! I will be really excited if it works out!
- Claire made it all the way through Mom's Morning Out last week, and she has made it through Sunday school and church two weeks in a row. Not perfectly -- she still cries some and I think requires a lot of one-on-one distraction from a variety of gracious and patient volunteers -- but I'm very hopeful that her separation anxiety is starting to improve.
- Mom, Amanda and I (no babies! Thank you, Matt and Stephen and Dad and Ron!) went to Chapel Hill Friday and Saturday for a miniature version of our annual girls' trip, a tradition we began the year after Mom's liver transplant.
Before babies, we had slightly more ambitious destinations (New York City in 2008, Greenville, S.C., last year), and we stayed for three or four days. Next year, with four babies between Amanda and me, our "trip" will probably be a morning in Carthage, but I'll still enjoy it. Any time is a good time with the two of them.
- I finally used that massage gift certificate Matt gave me for Christmas, thus checking No. 39 off my 101-things list. Being pregnant again has already rendered me unable to complete a few other items (e.g., give blood at least five times and visit an amusement park -- I'm not going to go if I can't ride the roller coasters). I did not want a soon-to-appear baby bump to get in the way of the massage. Thanks again, babe!
- The details aren't finalized yet, but this store in Knoxville, Tenn., is probably going to sell my picture frames! I will be really excited if it works out!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Bug juice
When we went to bed Thursday night the forecast was still looking iffy for camping, but by Friday morning it was entirely changed, predicting a gorgeous, sunny day and mild temperatures at night. And most importantly, no rain. After lunch we dropped Claire off at Mom and Dad's and went on our way. By the way, Claire enjoyed her staycation at least as much as we enjoyed being gone -- click here and here.We camped (thus marking No. 91 off my 101-things list) in Uwharrie National Forest, which is somewhere I think everyone should go more often. It's less than an hour away but feels like a different world. We set up tent about a quarter-mile from a lake and spent the afternoon exploring some trails, then started the campfire around 5 p.m. and settled in around it.
We knew we'd forget something. Unfortunately, it turned out to be OFF. Fortunately, the smoke seemed to keep bugs mostly at bay, and Dad had provided us with plenty of wood to keep the fire going strong until bedtime (we even had enough for a morning fire).
It was a primitive camp site -- no bathroom facilities, no running water, etc. -- so in my opinion one night was the perfect amount of time. Just long enough to feel like you're roughing it.
Saturday, we ate a late breakfast at the Troy Bojangles, picked up Claire from Mom and Dad's, and got home with enough time for me to have a long hot shower before Meg's baby shower. It was a fantastic, refreshing getaway. Thank you again, Mom and Dad!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Sweet girls and Stoneybrook
Duke is playing for the national championship tonight. I hate Duke, of course, but I do believe in pulling for the ACC, so I'm torn. When it comes down to it, though, I can never truly cheer for Duke. I should be going to sleep right now, but I never go to bed without Matt if I can help it, which is why I'm drinking a Coke and blogging.
Earlier tonight Matt and I stopped by Meg and Drew's to finally meet their baby girl, Charlotte "Charli" Grace! She is the most beautiful, tiny, adorable thing ever. I couldn't believe she was alert and perfect the whole time we were there. When Claire was that young, seeing her eyeballs was a big event. Charli looked around and made sweet faces and sounds for probably an hour, then Meg swaddled her and she fell asleep like a switch had been flipped.
She was born six weeks early, so she really is the tiniest baby I've ever held. Lauren W. is in town for Easter so she came by while we were there and it was great to see her too, albeit briefly! She took pictures, which I'll post here if they show up on Facebook, hint hint.
Saturday was Stoneybrook, which is one of our favorite traditions. We get out there early, stuff ourselves with great food and drinks all day, wander around and talk to what feels like everyone we know, and make $1 bets on the horse races. We've endured several years in a row of truly terrible Stoneybrook weather (I blogged about the 2008 Stoneybrook here) so we were thrilled that this year it was sunny, warm and basically as gorgeous a day as anyone could ask for.
We brought Claire and she didn't cramp our style too much. She was great all morning -- she sat on a quilt and chewed on a teething biscuit and just watched everyone. As the afternoon rolled around and she didn't get a nap, she started getting fussy, but she was too distracted (and probably too hot) to fall asleep. We stayed until about 4:30 or 5, and she slept in the car and then went straight to bed when we got home.
Ron stopped by Stoneybrook for a couple of hours, and these photos are courtesy of him:
Earlier tonight Matt and I stopped by Meg and Drew's to finally meet their baby girl, Charlotte "Charli" Grace! She is the most beautiful, tiny, adorable thing ever. I couldn't believe she was alert and perfect the whole time we were there. When Claire was that young, seeing her eyeballs was a big event. Charli looked around and made sweet faces and sounds for probably an hour, then Meg swaddled her and she fell asleep like a switch had been flipped.
She was born six weeks early, so she really is the tiniest baby I've ever held. Lauren W. is in town for Easter so she came by while we were there and it was great to see her too, albeit briefly! She took pictures, which I'll post here if they show up on Facebook, hint hint.
Saturday was Stoneybrook, which is one of our favorite traditions. We get out there early, stuff ourselves with great food and drinks all day, wander around and talk to what feels like everyone we know, and make $1 bets on the horse races. We've endured several years in a row of truly terrible Stoneybrook weather (I blogged about the 2008 Stoneybrook here) so we were thrilled that this year it was sunny, warm and basically as gorgeous a day as anyone could ask for.
We brought Claire and she didn't cramp our style too much. She was great all morning -- she sat on a quilt and chewed on a teething biscuit and just watched everyone. As the afternoon rolled around and she didn't get a nap, she started getting fussy, but she was too distracted (and probably too hot) to fall asleep. We stayed until about 4:30 or 5, and she slept in the car and then went straight to bed when we got home.
Ron stopped by Stoneybrook for a couple of hours, and these photos are courtesy of him:
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