A hair-raising tale

A day in the life...

While changing Eli I noticed a hair wrapped around one of his toes. The cute little toe was turning colors above the hair and it looked like the hair was embedded in the skin. When I couldn't get it off my first reaction was to call his doctor for advice. They couldn't see us til 2:00 - two hours away. I didn't think it should wait that long and my next thought was that I needed another adult's help, so I called my neighbor Liz. I'm so thankful to have such a wonderful neighbor! She stopped in the middle of making lunch, scooped up her son and came right over. The two of us were able to get the hair off with little difficulty. She headed back home to lunch and Zachary and Daniel came running in to say that they saw Beau (our outdoor-loving cat) catch something and take it under the patio table. We couldn't find anything under the table so I went back in to finish getting Eli dressed. The boys came back in again and it took me a few moments to realize that they were telling me they had seen Beau take his catch INSIDE the house. They had left the back door open and I had no doubt that Beau had been thrilled to bring his prize inside. Not good. Not good at all. I started looking for him and quickly eliminated rooms, until my room was left. I walked into my room, turned the corner into the bathroom and my stomach did a backflip when I saw the cat slinking into my closet, with a live rat in his mouth. A live rat. I tried to grab the cat (while holding Eli in my other arm. Was I thinking I could carry the baby and the animals outside? Or was I just trying to get them out of my closet? I don't know) and he dropped the rat. Which ran deeper into my closet. A live rat running loose in my closet. I screamed. Not a high pitched "help" scream, but a loud low noise that escaped me several times before I could get it under control. There was a live rat in the closet. Beau was not pleased that he had dropped it and quickly ran after it. As I left to set Eli down and get gloves or a bag or something, I could hear the thing squeaking. At least it wasn't running loose in my closet anymore. When I returned, Beau had dropped the thing again and fled. I now had a dead rat in my closet. I scooped it and the article of clothing it was on up into my gloved hands and carried it to the closest trashcan, then dropped the bag and the gloves into the trashbin outside. Then I washed my hands. A couple times. Ugh. I hope those boys learned why we close doors when we go out or come in! (This is not the first time Beau is responsible for creatures in our house. He once chased a lizard through the front door that I was holding open as I scolded the cat and told him to drop it. It almost crawled up my pant leg but thankfully decided against it and ran outside again. I think the rat story is worse though.)

Eating

I like to eat. Did you know that? I don't miss many meals and I'm always bummed when I'm sick or something prevents me from enjoying something. I don't know if my boys enjoy eating the same way. They can be so picky sometimes that they go to bed hardly having eaten any dinner. When they reach some milestone or make some discovery that allows them to enjoy food in a new way, I get so excited for them!

When Daniel's molars started coming in I was so thrilled for him that he was going to be able to eat all sorts of foods that he couldn't eat before! I don't think it mattered to him that suddenly he could actually chew instead of gumming foods or swallowing them whole, but I couldn't be happier.

I realized in the hospital shower this morning that I couldn't wait for the nurse to bring Eli in, yes because who doesn't love snuggling a newborn, but mostly because my milk is coming in and he's going to get to eat real food! He still isn't here yet, which is about the only reason this post is happening, and when we do start nursing this morning he probably won't be excited about the milk like I am, but that's okay. I can't wait.

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

I can sit at the table reading for as long as I want (well, within reason...), but as soon as I have to go to the bathroom, they're banging on the door and chanting "Mommy" in unison. When I finally open the door (and yes, I stayed in there longer than I needed to in the hopes that they would give up and go away), they were sitting side by side on the bed, absolutely as cute as can be. So hard to stay grumpy at them. This did not stop me from explaining to them how rude they had been and what behavior I expected of them next time, however. (One of the tricks of parenthood: the ability to be and look stern while not feeling the least bit upset. At times more difficult to achieve than one would think possible.)

A Story

It being a gray, drizzly day, I popped Wives and Daughters (W&D) in the DVD player and have been watching bits and pieces of it throughout the morning. After lunch Zachary wanted to play Wii (Lego Star Wars) and only needed a little reminding that the playroom was not tidy. He doesn't usually get it cleaned up well or quickly. I figured I had plenty of time to get some more laundry done etc. and watch another episode of W&D before he would be anywhere near ready. I finished the chores, turned the machines on and sat down on the couch. Our TV makes an audible "bzzzt" when we turn it on and Zachary can hear it from a mile away. He instantly appeared and asserted that he wanted to play his game. I asked him about his playroom. He (predictably) said it was clean. I heaved myself off the couch (big belly, coming through) and couldn't believe my eyes when I walked in the playroom: he had actually cleaned it up! I cannot convey to you, except to other mommies of young boys with too many toys, just exactly how amazing this accomplishment is. So of course I had to let him play. I asked if he wanted to watch a little bit of Mommy's show first but he declined. So I brought the disc into the office and will very shortly continue watching it in here. Just 'cause they've taken over the TV doesn't mean I can't enjoy my show too!

Humpty Dumpty

Someone posted on Facebook recently asking how we knew that Humpty Dumpty was an egg? The rhyme does not mention what he is - we always assume he's an egg because that's what's in the picture. I learned today that "Humpty Dumpty" is not a story, but a riddle! I think we dismiss it as another silly nursery rhyme that's fun to say, but it was actually originally more than that. This image to the right shows Humpty Dumpty as a riddle, with answer, in a 1902 Mother Goose book by William Wallace Denslow. (See the article in Wikipedia for more...)

Here is how the riddle appears in Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin (first published in 1903):

"Humpty Dumpty lies in the beck,

With a white counterpane round his neck,

Forty doctors and forty wrights,

Cannot put Humpty Dumpty to rights!"

(Beck meaning "small stream or brook", Counterpane meaning "bedspread", and a wright being one who constructs or repairs something, as in "playwright")

Interestingly, the "King's horses and King's men" that we're familiar with from our modern version of Humpty Dumpty appears in this one of Nutkin's riddles:

Old Mr. B! Old Mr. B!

Hickamore, Hackamore, on the King's kitchen door;

All the King's horses, and all the King's men,

Couldn't drive Hickamore, Hackamore,

Off the King's kitchen door."

Any guesses as to the answer of that one? Scroll down:

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You're thinking about it, right?

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Have you made a guess yet?

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A sunbeam.

If you have The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin there are several more riddles to enjoy. Before getting frustrated and Googling for the answers, I'll tell you the secret: the answers are the italicized text on the same page. You're welcome :-)

First Day of School

First day of school pictures! "Okay Zachary, time to take some pictures!"

"Um...I'm not sure about that "smile", let's try something...can you show me a scary face?"

"Ooh, good scary face! Now show me a...silly face!"

"THAT is a very silly face. Now show me a sad face."

"Oh dear, you look very sad. Now show me a happy face!"

Zachary started "school" last week. To tell you the truth, it really didn't feel like a big deal. Not like it did last year. Over the summer we took advantage of a ministry our church offers to members of free Mother's Morning Out days. It's only once a week, you have to register a week ahead of time, and there's limited space, but it was a fantastic way for them to do something fun, stay cool in the heat, and I got some time to myself (granted I tended to schedule my OB appts for those mornings, but at least I didn't have to drag two little boys to very many appts!). We also did VBS at the church, we started going to to Wednesday night suppers and staying for discipleship classes, and of course we've been going to Sunday morning worship services. So dropping Zachary off for "school" didn't feel any different than dropping him off for any of the other various activities. And even though he's not in the same classroom he was in last year, it IS the same room he's in this year for a couple of the activities.

Speaking of activities, I counted up the other day and realized that we have Zachary in SEVEN different things this year!! Sunday school, AWANA, MOPS, MMO, Children's Choir/Mission Friends, and The Little Gym. Four of them at our church. Daniel is in three: Sunday school, MOPS, and The Little Gym. Crazy. When we moved to Huntsville two years ago, the boys (well, boy. D wasn't born yet) were in nothing. Then we added MOPS and MMO. We did Kindermusik for a semester, then added The Little Gym. It was very manageable with a new baby. This time, the baby is just going to have be adaptable because we've got a lot going on!

Anyway, Zachary's first and second day went well (he goes twice a week, so we've only had two days so far.) He already knew his teacher - one of his best friend's mommy. (the end of that sentence sounds terribly awkward, but I'm not sure how to reword it and frankly don't want to spend the effort on it.) Some of his friends from last year aren't in his class this year, but he still gets to see them at other times (AWANA, Children's Choir/Mission Friends, or Sunday school). It will be interesting to see if his "best friends" change this year or not. While Z is in school, Daniel has his Little Gym class one day and the other day I reserve for any appointments or errands I need to do. Those things don't usually take up the full 4 hours that Z is away, and my goal is to spend that extra time just with Daniel. It's hard to get one-on-one time with Daniel when Zachary is home, because they each want to do what the other is doing. One-on-one time with Zachary isn't as hard to do because Daniel still takes a lovely 2 - 3 hour nap in the afternoon. But time with Daniel was hard to come by this summer.

So, our 2011-2012 school year had begun. Almost everything has started up, except for MOPS which will begin 9/5 (though we have a Steering Team meeting this month, so it's almost started up for me.) We'll see how we do with so many things going on (though not nearly as many as some - we haven't even started sports yet!) or if I need to scale back on anything. I've kept my jealously guarded Tuesdays free, and I dropped organizing the playgroups for the school year, so half of my Mondays will be free too. (well, unless someone else picks that up. But even so I won't be going to the playgroups in Oct and at least part of Nov because of the new little one.) Oh, and Z's Little Gym class is in the evening, so that frees up Friday. It should be manageable. (am I trying to convince you or me...?)

Maybe with such a manageable schedule, I'll be able to blog a little more often! (ha. I think everytime I've said something of that sort I disappear (as far as this blog is concerned) for months at a time.) This is the second post in a short period of time, right? So maybe I'll be back again soon!

Car Buying Lessons

This past week we bought ourselves a larger car to accommodate the new addition who will be joining our family next month. While this was not our first car buying experience, nor our first time buying a used car from a private party, we learned more things from this experience than from previous ones.

First, we learned that the least expensive and most efficient way to get money out of our online account for a large cash transaction was to wire money to a local bank and then get a cashier's check. We first tried to get the equivalent of a cashier's check - a treasurer's check - from our online-only bank, but it was going to take a week and a half for them to ship it to us! Expedited shipping would have set us back $50, which seemed a little steep. Especially when wiring the money to a local bank only cost $12. (Not including the fee to actually process the check). The online-only bank (meaning that there are no buildings with live tellers, only a 24-hr customer service line - with extremely friendly and helpful people, by the way) gives us a higher interest rate, but after this we've decided to definitely hold on to a free checking account at a local bank, just in case.

Second, we learned that buying a used car with a lien on it is a little different than buying a used car that the seller owns free and clear. When we bought the Acura, we handed them an envelope of cash (less than $3k), and they handed us a bill of sale and the title. Easy. This time, not only was the amount of $$ higher, but there was still a lien on the vehicle. Fortunately we did not learn this lesson the hard way. While still trying to figure out how to get the money out of our online account, we walked through an imaginary scenario in which the sellers took our money and bought themselves a nice entertainment system for their living room instead of paying off the lien. It turned into a nasty courtroom battle in which we weren't sure we'd get the car or not. It definitely ruined the sellers more than it ruined us, but it was a headache we could avoid. So we had the cashier's check made out to the lienholder. Fortunately the seller had no problem with this. It turned out that the lienholder was another local bank, so I met the seller there and handed the cashier's check right to the teller. I was expecting to receive an official looking document that said something to the effect of, "upon receipt of X dollars, lienholder has no further interest in vehicle" since that's what the advice I found online said I would get. All I got was a photocopy of the receipt that showed "account payoff" and a balance of $0. Good enough I guess!

Third, we learned that should a mistake be made in signing over the title, one has to go to the courthouse to get an Affidavit of Correction, then both buyer and seller must sign it in the presence of a notary (though buyer and seller don't have to sign at the same time, as long as both signatures are notarized). This one, you can guess, we are learning firsthand: the seller accidentally signed the 'buyer' line on the title. (here's the killer: he was talking about the hoops required to jump through if such a thing were to happen as he was doing it!! I kid you not! He said, "Now lemme make sure I sign the right place, because I've been through the rigmarole before when you don't..." and then he handed it to me and I almost fell out of my chair.) The guy is unable to leave his place of business during business hours, so I had the pleasure of driving to the courthouse myself to get the affidavit, and then we realized that I wouldn't be able to take the signed title home with me anyway because he couldn't get away til after 5:30 to see the notary (this was all happening before lunch). (We bought the car in Decatur, another city about 30mins away from us. A city we very rarely drive to). So I left the title and affidavit with him and he's supposed to get it notarized and in the mail to us this weekend. Hopefully we'll learn that he's a trustworthy fellow and we'll be able to title our car soon

So, lessons learned. But even with all this, we are so thankful to have found this wonderful car and have been able to save up for it so we could buy it in cash. Dave Ramsey has definitely changed the way we do things!!

April Update

Wow, I haven't posted since January, and here it is April. I don't really have much time to post a long update, but I've been wanted to put one of these on here:

Maybe I'll get it into the sidebar before September, but we'll see. (That sidebar needs some serious updating - there's no picture of Daniel!! And both boys have obviously passed their birthdays, so those tickers need to be updated too.)

I think part of the reason I've dropped off updating this blog as often is because I use Facebook so much more than I used to. Most of you reading this are probably reading it as a note on FB (and so never see the sidebar anyway. Can you see the ticker earlier in this post?). I've only recently done some updating to our photo site, and the video blog is so sadly out of date I don't even know where to begin updating it. (Again, I've been posting a few videos to FB now that I have a video capable phone).

Anyway! I just stopped by to say hi! This blog is not forgotten! But if you want more regular updates, please add me as a friend on FB! Now I'm off to enjoy some sunshine outside working in the garden with Curtis!