Fireworks in the bedroom

I just read a headline as I was signing on to blog:
Chewed up Vick cards sell for $7,400
Wow! Go dogs, I say. What kind of person could treat any living thing that way? Plus, having to give back all his NFL earnings? I say, "hell, yes!" Ah, 34 mill would be a nice big contribution to the SPCA or any other animal charity - this is, if they need suggestions of what to do with the money.

In other news, as Marc has already spilled, we bought a new car. I cannot tell you how excited I am about it. With the new 2002 Eurovan, I will be part of the VW family again. I had a new VW Beetle when I got pregnant with Lola. I loved it, but could not figure out how I was going to put a car seat in the back and the trunk had little room for a stroller plus anything else. This monster will be able to seat seven and sleep 4. I am stoked!!

What I really wanted to write about was the funny parenting story from 6am this morning. Those with queasy stomachs or no tolerance for poop, I suggest you stop reading, leave me a comment, and log in for the next blog. Anyway, Sid was having his super early morning breakfast when he pooped. Now, Sid is for sure a male. His bowels could set off a car alarm if he was close enough. So, Marc, who was awoken by the by the explosion, offered to change his diaper. I told him to let him eat for a few more minutes and then he could. I am half asleep during all of this and was startled awake by Marc's surprising yelp. I caught the end of it, but apparently, Sid has to pee, Marc quickly covered him with a wipe and then Sid decided to empty his bowels again. So, this explosive, surging pooh shot all over the bed...that's right, diaper number two was not under his bum. Did I mention that it is still a little after 6am? Ugh! So, we got Sid cleaned up, dirty diapers thrown away, hands washed and sheets changed. I guess the positive is that I now have clean sheets, I changed one less dirty diaper, and Marc even started a load of laundry. Ah, what a way to start the day.

With that all said (I love to share), I think I might go take a nap. Both kids are asleep - Hooray!

Recent happenings

So, changes and goings on among us in recent days...we had a successful garage sale on Saturday, getting rid of a bunch of stuff and making about $130 bucks in the process.  Which paid for most of our new pots and pans...fortunately Morgan picked up a great complete set of dishes for 8 at the thrift store!

In vehicular news, our growing family got us thinking we needed a bigger vehicle, so we're almost the proud owners  of a 2002 Eurovan.  (Almost because we don't actually have it yet, but it's as good as ours.)  No, we're not going to have FOUR cars, we're going to sell the Saturn and the existing VW van.  So if you know anyone needing a vehicle...

I know I've been bad about posting pictures lately...it's so hard to find time!   We hung a birdfeeder that the birds have been crazy about, so I need pictures of that, the new house, oh yeah, and our kids.  Hopefully this weekend.

Sidney's doing well, being generally baby-like all the time.  Not a lot to report, really - he eats a bunch, has gas, cries, sleeps, and needs his diaper changed.  Lola is generally good, being a big sister, having her little moods from time to time, and still being her beautiful, engaging, captivating self most of the time.

That's about all for now I suppose.  I'll at least throw a tasty link your way for your viewing pleasure.  Here ya go.   Pass that around the internet a bit.

getting rid of the 'stuff'

I am sitting in our driveway right now, while we are holding a garage sale. Here are the things that have ran through my mind this morning (and the last few minutes):

• Novelly house was much more convenient to have a sale. The driveway and yard held a lot more stuff and did not have a slant to deal with. Location there was much better than here. We are off the radar a bit. But we have a nice shady area to sit right inside the garage!


• With a newborn, you will need the extra help. I can't put out much stuff while trying to feed a baby.


• It is hard to sell toys of the child who keeps running around taking them back into the house.


• Nobody should EVER give us pennies when buying something. Okay, maybe if you are five - but not a fifty cent item from an adult woman. They went right into Lola's piggy bank.


• NO!!! The baby is not for sale - quit asking!


• I still think my stuff worth a bit more than Marc will let me mark it. This is an awful thing - I am the worst at bitching about people who mark their stuff too high.


• Get out of your car. It is a short walk to the driveway. Can you really see everything anyway? (I am guilty of this maneuver.)


• Nothing in the garage is for sale. After you ask, you can quit checking out stuff out. Makes me nervous.


• Lola is a great help in selling. I think people are just taken with her, "Good Morning!"


• I have had way too much coffee this morning.


• I should have countered $7 on the baker's rack that I just sold.


• I was hoping that our neighbors would come out and meet us. This was part of my intention in having a garage sale after we moved.

I think I better go....my body is telling me that Sidney will want to eat soon. If you are reading this on Sat morning, get your arse over here and buy some of our stuff!

Wanderlust

Inspired, I think, by Turi's recent synopsis of their Oregon trip, and by the presentation I just saw on the Tahoe Rim Trail, my mind wandered into creating a list of places I want to visit someday. Some of these may be pie-in-the-sky, but I think most are achievable. I post it here for future reference and just for fun.

• Tahoe Rim Trail - All165 miles around the Jewel in the Sky. Maybe two one-week camps, maybe every weekend for a month, something, someday. It would be a shame to miss this opportunity so close to home.


• Canada - I want to visit more than BC, see the prairies my grandparents lived on, the vast Great White North parts, even the cosmopolitan Toronto and Montreal.


• Australia - Maybe a bit of city, but mostly outback. I want to see Ayers Rock, listen to aborigines play the didge, and mingle with roos and koalas.


• Asia - Japan was one major destination on my life's must-visit list. Having done that, I'd love to see Thailand, maybe some China, some Vietnam, Tibet. I guess Siberia and Lake Baikal are Asia too, but I was going to list them separately. (These fall into the "probably only if I hit the lottery" category.)


• Grand Canyon


• New York City


• More of Alaska - Loved the beauty and charm of the smidgen of Alaska I visited, would love to see more.


• I want to tour Nevada, visit small towns on long desolate roads, sneak a peek at Area 51 and see Michael Heizer's City someday.


• Antarctica - The extreme continent.

Oddly, that's about all I can come up with for now.  Sure, I'd see more Europe, lots more of the US, Brazil, etc., but the ones above are what I really want to see someday.

Too much stuff

Ugh. We have too much stuff. Unpacking has been an opportunity to make huge garage sale piles. Now why wouldn't I do this while I packed? Well, I didn't get to do much of the packing (thank you to those that did). Unpacking and trying to put things away just makes you realize that there are things that you just don't need. When am I going to need eight tea cups and saucers? Heck, if I even served tea, it would be in our plain old mismatched coffee cups. And I have decided that this is fine. Plus, Marc and I are clothes whores. New huge closets are full, two dressers are full, and the shelf in the closet is piled high with clothes. Maybe better organization will make it seem like less. I did get rid of a bunch of stuff by weeding out all maternity clothes. Won't need them anymore.

Also, we have had to buy more stuff. Why you ask? Well, shelves to put our 'stuff' on and storage to put our crap in. Then there were the necessities: new sectional ( I am not a big fan of sectionals), a flat screen TV, new kitchen table and chairs (the retro would not have 'fit' with the beautiful granite counter top in the kitchen), curtains, rods, new lights for the patio, etc. It has been a lot of fun. :)

Marc went back to work. I love him, but it was stressing me out a bit with him around. I too want everything put away, but the pressure was killing me. It seems that I am a bit more productive since he's been gone. Plus, I love how excited he is when he gets home and realizes that there is less to be done.

Lola, again, looks so much older and more mature to me. Maybe it is just having Sidney to compare her to. She loves her new room and has found new stuff she forgot she had - as we all have. She now has a CD player in her room as well and has been going to bed so much easier. She practically kicks us out after stories, just so we can turn it on for her. I blasted some funny kids songs for her today and we danced around her room. VERY FUN!

Sidney is good. He gained almost a pound in ten days. On one hand, I am like, "Wow." On the other, I am not surprised as much as he eats. A lot, and I have been pooped on twice in two days. I really thought I knew how to change a diaper. He is a joy. We are all proud of our new addition.

And me....well, good. Elastic waisted pants/shorts, long tops, and lots of hair ties. I can't kiss my kids enough and and so proud of my husband and I for the fabulous family that we have created and the overstuffed home we have made.

Photo update

Busy around here, blogging is low priority, "free" time scarce. Finally getting settled in a bit, with a new toolshed out back, lots of boxes being emptied (don't get me wrong, still plenty to open), and miscellany being bought, built, and used. Not back at work yet, thankfully. We do have some fun too, like a kite-flying visit to the park yesterday, and little bike rides for Lola in the street. Major hearty congratulations to our dear friend and realtor Jack and his wife Melody, welcoming their son Nicholas into the world a few days ago. He's a darn cute boy.

Some new Lola pictures in her album, and some new Sid pictures in his album.

And yes, I do need to change the house picture in the margin to the right, I just haven't got a good picture of our new house yet.

Quiet, please.

Actually, there really has been no need to ask. Sidney sleeps, eats, eats some more, poops, and then sleeps again. Some of these actions happen simultaneously. Lola has perfected the art of whining. Overall, she has adapted to many new changes without much disapproval. I think she has only asked once that Sidney go back to where he came from. I think the role of 'big sister' suits her well and that she seems to have blossomed overnight. She seems so....mature? Really. Right after Sid was born, I noticed such a change in her - I guess because she wasn't the baby anymore.

My last attempt to blog was going to be while waiting for my contractions to get closer. I returned one email to Maggie, thought I'd let Marc sleep as much as I could since Sid's arrival was a certainty at that point, and then sat down to blog live while in labor. Nope. No such luck. Contractions came on fast and by the time that Gigi has arrived at 3am, I was in the driveway, pacing, sure that this poor kid was about to fall out. Four hours after our arrival to the hospital, Sidney made his grand entrance in full screaming mode. I must say it was a lot easier the second time. We had great care and Lola learned a lot that morning. She was not present at the actual birth, but was exposed enough to tell you exactly where babies come from. I guess her 'door' theory went out the window that morning.

We got home just in time to turn around and move into our new house. New house I recommend, kids are great - but doing all of it within days, I do not recommend so much. We had so much help - from movers, packers, to babysitters. Marc and I were overwhelmed at the generosity put forth by everyone. I hate moving and I can imagine that moving someone else's shit is much worse. I felt even worse being totally incompetent to do anything of use. We are still living out of some boxes.....I can find clean underwear for everyone, we all have clean sheets and other necessities. I guess we can survive this way for a while. Needless to say, a lot of my maternity time will be spent feeding Sid, negotiating with Lola, and in between, trying to put our house together.

It has been great to have Marc around for the past week. I think the addition of baby is pretty easy - but getting all the little things done on Novelly and here - I could not have handled that on my own. Mom and Paige have been great. They put one of our new bookshelves together and it only took them about 4 hours. I haven't seen much of them since:)

That's about all.......thanks to everyone for all the warm wishes, help, and love.

I was going to post a couple new pics...I will when Marc gets home. I always forget how to do it.