Holiday update

Memorial Day, a day off work, so I think I can squeeze out an update.  Finally.  We're supposed to be in mid-BBQ by now, but had a few cancellations so Morgan, kids, and Maggie are out back and I'm computing.  Photo update later, for now just the words.  On the plus side, the house is nice and tidy.

I feel like I've been productive in what little free time I have - we splurged on a new laptop with our tax refund, so I sold our old one on ebay, as well as our old digital camera with the half-wonky screen; made and hung a swing on the tree out front last weekend, made a raised-bed garden out back which is showing initial signs of success with tomatoes and an assortment of other sprouts coming up.  My hops are coming back this year, let's hope for success on them.

I've got a keg of hefeweizen sitting in the closet, waiting a few more weeks for Brian and Sonya's wedding, plus 3 bottles of Mirror Mirror in the garage fridge to enjoy sometime in the distant future.  As Brian put it yesterday, we're living in times of some of the best beer availability.  It's an obsession, tracking new special releases, what might be available in Reno or not, tasting sessions with friends, stowing ultra precious bottles away to age or wait for the right occasion.  I love it.

My other favorite thing besides beer (coffee) also has developments to report - Grandpa Dave sent us a big drip coffee and espresso machine recently that we just put into service.  It'll take a few pots to figure out just the right grind, amount, and setting for the perfect cup, but the iced espresso I had earlier put me into this weird "tired from antihistamines but feeling heart palpitations from the caffeine" state that I didn't like very much.  I'm reaching equilibrium now, both substances wearing off a bit.

On other fronts, we seem to be battling sickness on a regular basis.  We thought Lola's ear infection had passed, but more recently she had such a bad cough that it kept us all up most of the night, so we took her in.  She was diagnosed with asthma and put on a daily steroid mist treatment that's not much fun.  And her ear was still infected, plus a hold in her eardrum.  She seems well enough, but we're to see an ear-nose-throat specialist next week and get this all figured out.  Sid's mostly well, except for some mystery diarrhea the last couple days that we have no clue about.  Me, just allergies kicking my butt with everything in bloom this time of year, thus the aforementioned antihistamines.

EcoReno continues to keep us busy, although we could certainly use more business.  We've more or less decided our biggest impediment to raging success right now (besides the generally poor climate for business everywhere) is location.  We get virtually no drop-in serendipitous walk-in traffic, so we might be looking at moving at some point.  We'll see.  The people who do shop with us really do love our store and our merchandise, we just need more of them.  No big news otherwise, we just keep chugging along, looking for ways to grow and succeed.

My work continues to plod forward in a dismal situation - the library's budget cut 36% means doing more work with a lot less.  No layoffs for now, but lots of vacancies that means everyone's working harder.  Our hours are being cut at the end of next month, and my schedule will change, so the child care situation will need to change as well.  And then again in a few months when Sid's sitter goes to nursing school.

Well, I guess I've been a computer hermit long enough.  Time to open a cold one and relax on the deck I hosed off earlier today.  Days off are good.

In brief

It was actually this article that prompted me to post this morning.  It's fascinating to me that there are still pockets of human beings in the world who don't know a thing about electricity, running water, cell phones, and the Internet.  Hard to believe that's still possible in this day and age.

Aside from that, not a lot of news.  Kitty is adapting pretty well to her new surroundings, as are we to her.  We're all over our bouts with some evil stomach virus (except, perhaps, for visiting Nana who may or may not have it now), and I've got a three day weekend with apparently beautiful weather in store.  Hopefully I can finally get the grass cut now that our stretch of rain is over and our garden is booming, including some great progress with my hop plants.

Getting back...

...on track, to work, to Reno, etc. The trip home was slightly eventful, Sidney vomited his way across the US, in Denver airport both in a restaurant, then on me. Then on Morgan in flight. Poor guy had a pretty upset stomach for about 24 hours, seems OK now. I'll spare you the rest of the details.

In reviewing Michigan photos, I realized how long it's been since I updated any albums around here. So while the bulk what I loaded is an album of Michigan trip photos, there are also a very few new ones in Sid's album, Lola's album, and the Miscellany album (of Morgan's birthday cake and camping, I think is all). I've got a couple Sid videos to post as well, just out of time for now.  Not much else to say expect how much I dislike returning from vacation: to piles of laundry and mail, to an empty fridge, to work, to the usual routine grind.

With that, I'll leave you with something fun; the artifact in the photo below was in the front yard of a house two doors down from Grandpa in Adrian. It stands about 4 feet tall. He told us what it was, so I know now. Do you? Guesses in the comments. Perhaps a prize for the right answer and/or most creative. I hope this isn't easy. I sure had no idea. Click for full size.

Evicted

It seems that Robin Bird may have been evicted from her nest or has moved out. We did find one cracked robin egg on the railing of the deck. There has been no sign of her. A new family has been seen brining in more debris to add to her old nest. They look like Mr and Mrs George Bird, but we are not sure it is them. There has been no activity around their nest. We hope that Robin has maybe just moved her eggs? Nature is an interesting thing.

Please forward mail to:

When we moved into our lovely new home, one of the small selling points for me was a bird's nest nestled in the eaves of the back deck. This spring, we all watched as Robin Bird attempted to build another nest in another nook of the deck. It didn't go well for a while. We were left with large clumps of stuff scattered around. We weren't sure if she knew what she was doing either. She tried in two or three different areas, never succeeding. About a week and half ago, she finally got her nest built. It happened rather quickly. Maybe she got some advice from a fellow bird. Anyway, I believe she has laid her eggs as she spends a lot of time laying in there watching the back door very cautiously.

In the old nest, Mr and Mrs George Bird have moved in. They have made some modifications and I even caught them stealing from Robin Bird's nest! Their property looks a bit unkempt and really, well, ugly. No idea if they have laid their eggs yet. Maybe they feel that they need to add more?

Here are a few pictures:

Happy Earth Day

Just a few minutes to catch up before heading to work, seems like lots to talk about here.

First, off it's sort of spring birthday season around here.  Happy birthday to Lola's Nana today, and last Friday to Morgan.  Had a nice little gathering Friday night here, followed by dinner out at Lulou's on Saturday night.  Quite delicious, quite expensive.  I celebrated Morgan's birthday by paying a visit to Reno's first microbrewery, then picked up ingredients for a honey wheat beer I'm planning to brew and rhizomes to plant some hops out back.

Also speaking of birthdays, I just heard from an old friend (Bret for you out there who might remember him), announcing the birth of his daughter Evalina on Saturday night.  Congrats to Bret and his wife, welcome to Evalina.

In a recent spate of eco-activity around here, partially Earth Day inspired, partially coincidental, we've been purging some plastics around here to avoid bisphenol-A, and I've been ballparking solar systems.  Sort of dismayed to realize that just to offset about half of our electric consumption with solar, we're looking at probably close to $20,000 up front, even after generous rebates.  So I dunno if that's going to happen.  Might start with solar water heating.

Two final brief blurbs and then I'm out:

Sidney has two new teeth coming in.  Yay for teeth, but boo on the accompanying crankiness and how bad it makes him feel.  :-(

Recent movies seen: No Country for Old Men - excellent, violent, tense, really enjoyed.  Juno - Excellent in all respects, story, characters, music, dialogue.  Totally loved it.

Radar report

Seems like more and more posts around here are just dumping of "what's on my mind" lately. Here's another one. Just too much bobbing around in my head not to post some stuff, but too crazybusy to wax poetic about anything much.

• Heard a blurb on NPR this morning following the recent Starbucks annual shareholders' meeting. Not particularly interested in the business/finance angles, but for coffee buffs like me, sounds like some interesting things ahead. This press release gives a pretty good rundown, but I'm particularly interested in the Clover brewing system. The quote from the CEO on the radio was along the lines of "I was in this (non Starbucks) coffee shop and they're serving coffee for $7 a cup. And there's a line. I'm not happy." So he bought them out.
  


• In the finance department, we just wrapped up our refinance of the house. Bottom line: by my estimates, we'll save $150,000 by refinancing to a 20-year 4.75% loan. And it'll only cost us $9 more each month. I'm also going to open a 529 account for each of the kids, and Lola signed up for preschool today, so come FY2008-2009, I'll have them start taking out some pre-tax dollars from my paycheck for that. Savings all around!


• I need to start brewing more. It's a hobby I have a passion for, I can save money by brewing my own beer, and, well, it's good beer. But dang, hops are getting expensive. Tina and Bart's baby shower is this weekend, and I'll be serving a homebrewed pale ale.


• March madness is here, so that, of course, means the annual library pool is on. Wish me luck!

Well, I guess that actually wasn't much to say. Just felt like I had a lot on my mind. Happy birthday Pop!

P.S. This is funny.

Photos

OK, as promised, additional photos...click on them for larger versions.

Birds at our birdfeeder 

And a few from our afternoon BBQ at Ian and Sharon's house, featuring dear Lola of course...

A few new pics

Well, I was going to just post a quick blurb that I put up a few new Sidney pics in his album and Lola pics in hers.  Then I was going to wait until later today to include a few pictures of birds at our birdfeeder and one of our new house in the margin.  Then Morgan convinced me to go ahead and toss something out right now...we leave for brunch in 45 minutes.

Around the house this weekend: Living room painted fabulously by Morgan in a nice shade of blue and one wall in chocolate brown (or mahogany as Home Depot calls it) , more painting to come tomorrow we hope; went to dinner at sister Sarah's house in Truckee last night, BBQ at the Campbells' house today; need to fill up the birdfeeder; selling some stuff on ebay; miscellaneous errands and such.  Nice to have three whole days.

So that's it for this quick post, hopefully I'll get back on with some other photos later today.

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!

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.

Lola pic updates

Finally getting around to some new photos around here. First, this one's for Rosie (click for larger):



Adding new photos to the regular Lola album too, and I'll dust off the Lola page to post some new videos later tonight I hope.

Still no baby brother to report.  Going for final walkthrough on the new house in a few minutes, closing tomorrow.  Let's just see how close together we can get the two events to occur.  Sheesh.

Keeping up

It's hard to keep this blog viable when it feels like I just have the same stuff to say every time. ..

Another day, another brushfire.  Had a good view of it tonight, the hills above Caughlin Ranch aflame quite visibly as we came home from dinner with friends.  Seems like every day or two, something else is burning.  At least the really hot weather has settled back to normal hot.  Speaking of, um, brush...did something fun this weekend, a movie in the woods.  A friend of a friend does this most years, drags out a bunch of gear into the forest in Dog Valley and shows a low grade scary movie for anyone who cares to show up.  This year it was Slumber Party Massacre which I watched about half of before turning in, followed by Dawn of the Dead.  Fun time, grilled some burgers, drank some beers, slept in the van with Morgan and Lola, Paige and Maggie up top.  That's about the most ambitious camping we'll be up for this year, I'm thinking.

Got word today that we'll probably be able to close the deal on our new house next Monday, coincidentally the due date for baby brother.  Hopefully the timing of things will shake out agreeably for all, one great event coming before the other rather than everything simultaneously.   Speaking of the move, we've treated ourselves to a few more big purchases with some of the equity from the sale of the house - found a decent dining room table and chairs (luckily, we can leave it at the store for as long as we like, until the end of July if need be) and really splurged on a nice big LCD TV that Costco had on sale.  Next up?  A new sofa (or if I'm lucky, a sectional) for the living room, and fat shed for the backyard.   Managed to stock up on a variety of sundry items at the Rite Aid-turned-Longs up on MaeAnne, bunch of miscellany up there for 75% off right now, too!

I suppose that's the best I can offer for now, loyal readers (all of you).

awkward

I have exactly 12 days until my due date, according to the countdown on the computer put up by Marc. I think that awkward is the best description that I can come up with to describe how I am feeling. It has been a bit on the hot side, but today I am indulging in the cool air that is gently blowing through the house. It is a bit smoke filled, but I'll take it.

Lola is waiting for Baby Brother to "open the door" and come out. I am not sure who explained this phenomenon or where she come up with it, but I truly think it will work until she is ready for that explanation down the road. I believe that Lola is going to LOVE being a big sister. We have talked about it since we found out. She loves to talk to him, kiss the paunch in which he sits, and can't wait to help out. Her new word this week is 'irritated.' She picked it up from Paige. I don't think that she understands its meaning, and so hopefully, Baby Brother will not become an 'irritating' acquisition to the Tiar household or to Lola's world.

Other than that news, I have nothing new to share. Big adjustments are on the horizon for all of us: new baby and new house. A lot of work ahead of us.

Aiche Oh Tee

That spells HOT.  Damn hot.  Tied the all-time record for hot yesterday in Reno, 108 degrees (or 42C for you foreigners).  That's at least two days over 100 this week, today as well, and the forecast is for high 90s for the next several days.  Enough already.  It's 7am and 80 degrees in this house (note: that's still 80 vs. already 80 - I think that's an important distinction; it's not that it was nicer and has risen to 80, it just never got any cooler in here).  We couldn't take it last night and moved ourselves, the poor dogs and a certain sweaty two-year-old down to sleep in the basement.

We went to have the new house inspected yesterday, and their air conditioning was set to 71.  It's amazing how much difference 9 degrees makes.  Maybe it's just psychological, but on days like this, I'm never going outside after we move.  I don't understand how people live in places where it's like this routinely (Baghdad, Arizona, Laughlin, etc.) and especially in developing/war-torn countries where air conditioning and/or a consistent power supply are a rarity.

Nothing else of note to report or link to.  As usual, impending baby and impending house dominate our overheated life right now.  Well, on with my day.

Monday morning update

A first...first photo of Lola taken by the iPhone. Nice gadget, but I'm not anywhere close to dropping 6 bills for one. Thanks for the test drive, Ryan. More than enough critiques and analysis of its features already out there, so I won't bother.

Still in "getting ready for baby and new house simultaneously" mode around here. Bought some new patio furniture this week and some shelving for the garage. Heading to Ikea on Wednesday (have to take advantage of a rare day off together, for 4th of July in this case) to scope out area rugs, dining room sets, crib bedding, etc. It's supposed to be about 105 here in Reno, Sacramento should be a real sweatlodge. Hopefully we'll be home in time for a swim.

Finally, Portland pictures

A new album with the highlights of our Portland trip.  Well, only some of them.  Body Worlds didn't allow photos, and some of the highlights, like swimming at the hotel pool and enjoying a good meal and beer, didn't have good photo ops.

Chugging right along, both houses (the one we're selling and the one we're buying) got appraised today.  Still no moving date, only tentative closing dates, and baby brother still hanging out in utero, waiting to make his grand entrance.  Selling a couple things we don't want to move, looking for some new stuff to outfit the new place.  I feel oddly calm today, like I'm in the eye of the hurricane, chaos abounds, but I'm at peace for the moment.

I wish there were easier/better ways to document Lola's development and capture the crazy funny things she says these days.  "Dada you're so cute" or "Daddy you're a silly boy" are just a couple off the top of my head.  I need a voice activated micro-recorder that attaches to her clothes just to get it all to share with those not present.  She's such a sweet girl, I can hardly stand it.

wild for Windsor!

So, it is official. Our offer was accepted and the Tiar family will be moving into their new house sometime after the 27th of July when we close. Oh, that is 4 days after Baby Brother is due to arrive. I like to keep things interesting. I figure unless we were waiting a few months, I am never going to be that much help - to big and pregnant now. After, well just healing with an infant. Anyway it happens, it is not far to move and I am so excited, I will be packed and ready before.

Amy is leaving tomorrow. She is the neighbor across the street. She's Lola's best friend. She is only sad when she thinks about leaving Lola and Marc and I got a little verklempt when talking about it earlier. Lola went over to help pack and clean for a while (probably really to take a break and play with her dogs). After she came home, she started packing her flip flops and other assorted items into a plastic bag, informing me that she was going to New Jersey with Amy.

Poor Lola. Lots of changes. She seems very excited about Baby Brother and talks to him all the time. Apparently he hears better when she lifts my shirt and talks directly against my skin. I am hoping that my new stories of a new bedroom and new house will actually make the transition smooth for her. She is a pretty resilient, adaptable, and easy going child.

No other news really. It's hot. It seems to be getting hotter. Did I mention AC in the new house? That cannot happen soon enough.