Thursday, after the most bizarre work experience of my life, and after I sat on the couch drinking diet Coke and watching Dr. Phil in a complete daze, I met up with Pat and we walked over to the photo building for Greta's art show premiere. I avoided crying in front of any of the students and parents, and we enjoyed looking at the preschoolers' artwork. The kids in Greta's class made artwork inspired by Leo Lionni books. Look how cute!
After the art show, we went back home, and there was a very exciting package for Greta. Pat had ordered her a pink electric guitar and amplifier. This may not seem especially interesting on the surface, but it seems notable to me, because maybe 20 minutes after we found out I was pregnant and Pat and I got over the initial OMG-we're-having-a-baby! excitement, the first thing Pat said was, "I need to start thinking about what kind of guitar to buy the baby." I suggested he wait a little while since she was pretty much a zygote. Since that conversation, Pat has spent quite a bit of time researching guitars for kids, weighing the options, and he finally settled on the perfect one. Greta loves her new guitar, and it matches all of her outfits perfectly. :)
Friday evening, we headed over to NTID for a contemporary dance performance of Sleeping Beauty. Our good friend Amy was one of the dancers, and we knew Greta would love seeing Amy perform AND see one of her favorite princess stories set to dance. It was really fun, and Greta hasn't stopped talking about how cool Amy is since.
Saturday we lazed around a lot. The big thing is after Greta went to bed, Pat and I cooked our annual Valentine's dinner. Given my employment predicament, the menu probably should have consisted of hobo beans, but we splurged for organic beef tenderloin, sautéed mushrooms, beet and warm goat cheese salad, good bread, and we opened a nice bottle of wine from our collection. The food was great, and we watched a romcom we both actually liked (500 Days of Summer), and we just generally had a nice night. We ended up waiting to have our dessert until today, since we were way too full to eat it, but I made chocolate soufflé. I am still far from mastering soufflé, but at least this time I made it the soufflé did rise (the only other time I attempted soufflé it came out flat as a pancake). No pictures. I was too busy eating.
What else? I am feeling much better about the whole getting-laid-off thing as of today. Other than my freshman year in college, I've had a regular job since I turned 15. I am staying positive about finding something else I'll enjoy doing (or like even better!), and, meantime, I'm determined to enjoy my mini temporary retirement. I'm looking forward to the challenge, including finding ways to save money, and living off the land and my wits and riding the rails (well, okay, maybe not that last part).
We had a really nice weekend, and I am exhausted and can't wait to go to bed (No, I'm not watching the Super Bowl. Shocking, I know.), so I'll keep this short.
Saturday, Pat and Greta had some nice daddy-daughter time while I went out to have afternoon tea with my friend Dottie. This friend is a sort of new friend who is so ridiculously nice. When we were buying our house, she insisted she wanted to come over and help me clean. It boggled my mind. She not only brought her kick-ass cleaning skills, she also brought her Dyson, wine, and cracker-and-cheese goodness. She helped me clean the entire house, and having her company for that first big clean was priceless. As a thank you, I got her "tea for two" and Hicks & McCarthy. I swear I wasn't fishing for and invite, but she insisted I join her. So we finally got around to doing that this weekend. She is such a fun person, and she reminds me that there is a lot of good in the world.
Today, we got together with some new friends and some old friends. First, we met up with one of Greta's newish day care pals (and her family) at the museum. We had such a good time with them. We seem to have a lot in common, including parenting style. I have never met people through a kid connection who I've clicked with more. I really, really like the mom, and, frankly, I think I have a little bit of a friend-crush on her. I hope she likes me! And, probably more importantly, I really like their little girl. She is one of the sweetest, most thoughtful three year olds I've ever met.
The girls were so cute together. They were holding hands and just very obviously enjoyed being together.
Amigas.
I think Greta might have a friend-crush too.
After the museum, we went over to our little friend Nathan's birthday party. Frank and Joyce are always such good hosts. It was such a nice party. I will say I was stumped as to what to buy him for his birthday. (Girls are so much easier than boys, sez I.) I was walking around Toys R Us last night in a daze, and finally I settled on this big wooden dinosaur play thing and container of plastic dinosaurs. I was thinking, Uh, do the kids like dinosaurs these days?? And when we walked in and saw that there was a dinosaur theme, I was all, YES! I am awesome. I have no pictures of the event because I was too busy stuffing my face with food and playing with dinos.
What else? I was kind of a lazy cook this weekend, but we were running around a lot. I did make a healthy(ish) French onion soup. It was my first-ever attempt at FOS. It absolutely killed my eyes, and when I woke up this morning I had lovely bloodshot eyes. It was far from the best FOS I've ever had, too. Given how painful it was to make the soup and the lackluster results, I think FOS is something I will leave to the professionals in the future. Here's the recipe in case you want mediocre soup that will make you cry and wake up with red eyes.
The only downside to having such a fun weekend is that it went by in a flash and now I'm really super especially not looking forward to work tomorrow. Blerg.
It turns out our friend Kimmie broke her tibia, fibula, AND suffered a hairline fracture to her ankle...roller skating. The whole thing sucks, but I think it especially sucks when someone hurts themselves while having good, clean fun. (Although she is the second person I've seen break their leg while roller skating.) Feeling a little shell-shocked (I am, at least), we have been staying in today. The most dangerous thing we've done is bake cookies (with a hot oven) and color (with blunt-tipped crayons). Kimmie was due to have surgery today, and we're hoping she has a very speedy recovery. Today is Greg's birthday, and we're hoping it's as unsucky as possible.
We went to two - count 'em two - parties today. One was fun until someone broke her ankle. No lie. That is a major downer, especially considering it happened around 4 PM and it's 9:45 PM now and there is a decent chance she's still at the hospital, because that's how the ER rolls. I can't stop thinking about my friend. I hope she's feeling okay.
The second party was fun the whole time, and while we left fairly early, probably no one will need to go to the hospital tonight. The second was a housewarming party for our friend Alex, who moved into the same 'hood as us right around the same time we did. We loved his new house. Greta obviously felt very at home and especially loved dancing, mingling, and running down the long hallway.
Greta and Pat went to one of those bounce house places today for a four-year-old's birthday party. I had to skip out because I had to go into work for a few hours today. Pat was suspicious of my motives since my first and only experience going there ended in some self-diagnosed "psychological damage," and the other time or two they went I conveniently had to work. Pat's suspicion might be true, but I'll never tell.
When we reconvened, they showed me this great photo collage. I thought Greta was the biggest ham in the family, but look at this guy.
Damn. I knew this year was going too well. Moments after publishing yesterday's blog, I heard a cry from Greta that was unmistakable: the cry that takes place about 10 seconds before she's going to throw up. You parents probably know what I'm talking about, or at least recognize the I'm-lonely or I'm-feeling-needy cries from the I'm-feeling-distressed cries. So, we spent a lot of the night consoling Greta, cleaning up, and attempting to fit in as much sleep as possible. It was a very unpleasant night. I will tell you that trifle is pretty going in, but coming up is another story. Today, Greta is just tired and cranky, and I don't know about Pat, but I am overanalyzing every tummy rumble. Oh, and it is snowing like crazy. I took some pictures first thing this morning. We have accumulated quite a bit since then, but I think I would be crazy to leave my nice, warm house just to prove that it snows a lot here. Most people know that already.
Because it would be wrong to photodocument the vomit part of the night/day, you get snow pictures. (I love our house.)
These are my cute, sensible polka dot boots.
It is very rare for us to not leave the house at some point during a day. Very, very rare. But with the silly amount of snow and Greta's sketchy stomach, there was basically no way we were leaving the house today. Greta was bummed and kept asking if we could go someplace fun. She did rule out going to a couple places and at some point even said, "We can't go to the museum because they know I'm sick and because it's closed because it's too cold." Yes, something like that. I like that she thinks the museum knows which of its members are sick.
While I'm not Catholic and not really even religious, I have no qualms about busting out the Saint Anthony prayer when I've lost something. (For those of you who didn't have a Catholic grandmother teach you the Saint Anthony prayer, here's a similar version.) I would stop using it, but it works every time. Does anyone know if there is a saint you can pray to who keeps stomach bugs away? Holy crap, I just found this and this and, wow, this.
So, we're all moved! Moving day was Thursday, and it was probably the most productive day of my life - well, with help from Pat and 4 big, strong movers. There were some dicey moments, and I was very much on edge the entire time things were being moved, but all and all things went very smoothly. Almost everything is unpacked now, and it appears that not a single thing broke!
I unpacked Greta's room first so it would be all settled for her when she got home from school. The look on her face was priceless. I really wish I captured it on film. I hope to get pictures of the room itself in the next day or two, and I'll post them. I always find it challenging to find a place that works will for everything, but I've been spending pretty much every free moment getting settled. So far so good. We really love being here. In some ways it feels more like home than the last house ever did (have I mentioned I love this house??), and in others ways I feel a little like we're squatters here (I have been hand washing all of the dishes and haven't used the dishwasher yet - it just feels like it doesn't belong to us).
The first night Pat and I were overcome by how quiet and dark it was. When we turned off the lights in the bedroom it was pitch black. Having a street lamp outside of our window for the last 5 years, even with heavy curtains, it was never completely dark in our room. It was amazing not to hear a sound other than the house noises. The first night it was a bit unsettling, but now I love it.
Friday we worked, which was actually sort of a good thing. I knew if I stayed home I would overdo it, so being at work actually felt like a break. Friday night, when I got home from work, I saw 8 turkeys in my next-door neighbor's yard. When I pulled into the driveway they skittered across the street. That definitely wouldn't have happened at the old house.
What else? The Reeds came to see the house this weekend. We also took a break from the unpacking today to go apple picking. I also spent a few hours at the old house last night to do some cleaning, which was so utterly and completely not fun but very necessary. There were definitely some drawers that hadn't been cleaned in 5 years, as well as areas of floor/wall that hadn't seen the light of day (or the vacuum) - gross.
Cleaning at the old house was definitely the lowlight of the weekend, and when I came home (about 11:15 PM!) I was in such a bad mood. Pat had great news for me, though. The cable guy had come on Thursday (we get basic cable), and we really hadn't had much time to sit down and watch TV yet, but last night Pat discovered that the cable guy totally hooked us up. We have way more channels than usual, including the guilty pleasure channels that I love oh-so much. Thank you, cable guy!
So, I'm sort of rambling and I still have lots to do, so I'll leave it at this and post some photos from apple picking.
Running around in the teepee.
Jumping off the hay bails.
Helping Greta jump off the hay bails.
We had a hard time getting her to leave the play area.
We went to Powers Farm Market today with our good friend Amy. We went early enough in the day/season that it wasn't completely mobbed, which was a bonus.
Of course we fed the animals.
And perused the pumpkins.
And had doughnuts and cider.
And went in the huge tepees.
It was all fun and games until Pat took Greta on the hayride, which was too scary for little girl. Here is a before shot, while she was still excited.
It was a perfect fall morning, aside from the tears from the hayride.
Many of you should know this because I have brought the topic up previously, but I hate the 80s. (Ha! After I wrote this I found that I titled two other posts "I hate the 80s." Here and here. I'm nothing if not consistent.) I did not like the 80s at the time, and while I have been desensitized by seeing so many skinny jeans in the last 5 years or so and have seriously been considering buying a pair, I DON'T like 80s throwbacks or the honoring of the 80s in any way. [Deep breath.] BUT our friend and neighbor Sara threw an 80s theme party, and I admit I had fun shopping at Goodwill for our outfits, and I did have lots of fun at the party. I will say there is nothing like 80s clothing/hair/make-up to make me feel like an awkward little tween again, though.
Greta had a BLAST at the party, and I took a lot of photos of her and Pat dancing. There was a strobe light and I did some slow exposures.
Still, my favorite picture is this one, using a flash.
I am hesitant to post this one because, like I said, the 80s do not look good on me, but I appreciate that Sara set up a prom-style background for photos, and we did take one all-fam shot.
(You're welcome.) I will say I am pretty proud my outfit cost a total of $9 (silver high heels included) - woot! But you can be sure it will be going right back to Goodwill.
We spent most of this weekend at the new house, getting some painting done before we "storm the castle." Get it? Because our new house looks like a castle. Heh. Painting - or really focusing on any task that requires...focus - with a three year old present is not as easy as it might sound. We did get a lot done during her nap yesterday (she boycotted a nap today - thumbs down for productivity) and last night after she went to bed, and we made a nice dent in painting the guest room / office and Greta's bedroom. We have just 5 million more things to do (like sell our other house - minor detail), and then we can move in!
Last night we got as close to camping as I get by sleeping over at the new house on *gasp!* air mattresses and eating things like *shudder!* cold spaghetti sandwiches. (Cold spaghetti sandwiches are actually quite tasty. Air mattresses, however, suck.)
Here is Greta in her new "bedroom" (actually it's the dining room) eating "dinner" (spaghetti sandwich on her "hand plate").
And here is Greta in her new "playroom" (actually it's the living room) playing with her "toys" (they're just toys).
I also took some "before" pictures, but since we're didn't actually finish anything this weekend, I will have to save them until later.
As much as we like the new house, we're happy to be back to our city house tonight to sleep in our own comfy non-air-filled beds. And I think I'm feeling a little loopy right now, so on that note I'm off to bed! Sorry for the excessive quotation marks and parentheticals. (You know you "love" them.)
