A Big Day for Nathan

Nathan has wanted a library card for quite some time. The rule at our library in Concord was that he had to be able to write his name on the back. Well, guess what:

Teeth! And Our New Home.

That guy is so cute. Unless no one is paying attention to him, then he looks like this:Yes, his face really gets that red when he's mad. Poor kid.

In other news, here are some pictures of our house. It's in what's called an "urban renewal" community. From what I understand, the builders took an old, run-down neighborhood, bulldozed it, then built a new community in it's place, keeping with the architectural style and street layout of the area.

The house is fine, nothing special inside, and COMPLETELY LACKING IN SHELVES! I mean, ANY shelves. So be forewarned, the following pictures are messy, because I can't figure out where to put anything with NO SHELVES.

And also, no artwork with very large walls. I'm working on that.

There are two bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs, which we're using as a playroom.

So, that's that. We're just trying to get back into a routine, fill up the refrigerator, find a place to put toys. I think we'll enjoy it here.

New Orleans, Here We, Ummm… Came?

We’re here! Okay, that was stating the obvious… but I figured I left all three of you who cared hanging with my face book status, so here’s the rest of the story:

Wednesday night before we left, some amazing friends came and helped us mostly finish packing. Thank you, Jesus, for amazing friends! We looked at what was left after we sent them home (because we were both brain dead and couldn’t make any more decisions) and figured we had about two hours work or so left in the morning. Can you say STUPID?

Thursday morning, departure day, arrived with a realization that we still had lots to do. LOTS. And three small children with no toys, books or movies because everything was packed already. So we ran around all morning trying to wrap things up. As we finished up, I put the kids in the car with a movie while we swept and crammed things in the garage.

Guess what happens when kids are in the car watching a movie for, well, longer than you expected? And no, not that. They were strapped in to their seats. I’m not THAT stupid! THE BATTERY GOES DEAD. That’s what happens. I think my husband owed his mental cuss jar some money. I hid.

Well, I guess we have more time! Not really the plan. But okay, we’re flexible. Brian started the car charger, took care of more weird guy tasks like checking tire pressure and such, and I chatted with my neighbor, Sara, whom we’d already said goodbye to twice. We put the kids back in the car, and Brian asked me to watch him pull out to make sure everything was good with the hitch.

Everything was NOT good with the hitch. Prepare for lots of fancy technical terms here: we bought this fancy new double bike hitch thingy that basically makes it possible to put the bike hitch with all the bikes behind the vehicle, then the cargo trailer behind that. So we’re about 80 feet long. Anyhoo, Brian started to pull out, and because of the extra weight, the hitch scraped. Badly. And got stuck.

I may have to take a loan out from the mental cuss jar.

After some inspection, Brian decided there was nothing for it but to just reverse and… unscrape? He needed to change the hitch. Which is connected to the fancy new double bike hitch thingy and the trailer.

Just a note: the kids were really awesome, and out playing with Sara’s kids, since THEY WERE HOME FROM SCHOOL ALREADY.

So, the hitch. This is the part Brian’s mom should NOT READ. Or my mom, either. Doing everything properly would mean unloading the bikes and taking everything apart, and well, we were already late. So Brian pulled the pin on the hitch and just drove out of it, switched it out, then had me back up to reattach it.

Can I just say that I was waiting for a scream of pain that would tell me I had just cut off all my beloved’s fingers?

So after much yelling back and forth of “back up TWO INCHES!” and “This is a freaking Suburban! It doesn’t only go TWO INCHES!” we successfully reattached the bikes and trailer, said goodbye to Sara again, and were off. Whoo! Yeah, it felt really long at the time, too!

I Want One! (totally squealed in a mature voice... not the one I keep telling my children we don't use!)

My friend Rachel wrote a post about Amber Teething Necklaces on her blog over at Euphoria Maternity. I've never heard of them before, but the idea sounds really neat. I'm writing this in order to enter a contest to win one, and also to ask if you've ever heard of such a thing.

I like the idea of healing and soothing properties. It's fascinating to me that for thousands of years people have had alternative ways of dealing with many of the same issues and discomforts we have now. I wonder if they sleep trained their kids, 'cause I could sure use some advice there!

I wonder how my boy's daddy will feel about him wearing a necklace if we win? And also, will he drool more or less? 'Cause we have a perpetual puddle around here!

So, have you ever heard of/seen a teething necklace?

You Have Got to Read This!

So I follow a blog called BooMama, and this week she posted about holy letter closings. If my kids were not sleeping in the bed next to me, I would have been giggling hysterically. If you write letters, you have got to read this!

Needing Some Closure

Three

Happy Birthday, Brenna Mae!

Five

Nathan turned five today. Wow.