a potpourri

When the sirens-blaring-and-lights-flashing fire truck pulled up in front of our house this afternoon, I immediately assumed my house was on fire and thought it odd that I couldn't tell.

Then the ambulance pulled up and everyone charged into the house across the street.

I'm glad my house wasn't on fire. You know all those important files? I'm pretty sure they are in fire attracting cardboard boxes.

And I'm glad my neighbor is okay. She just had chest tightness and shortness of breath, but doesn't own a car so they had to call 911.



You know what else is cool? W1 and L1 were entertained for a good 15 minutes. Probably the only 15 minutes today they weren't fighting.

All that fighting led to lots of disciplining. And at one point, while being put on time out, W1 said: "I'm going to take you outside and hit you with an axe."

Good heavens how was I supposed to respond to that? Any ideas?

Of course my response was mostly stunned silence.




Between all the fighting and disciplining, I didn't get to sit down and read this:


Which I have been dying to do all day. Couldn't put it down last night when I should have been sleeping.



So what did I do with those 15 beautiful minutes?

Found this:

(Sister Hazel will the performing at the Lilac festival May 14th and I needed a song refresher)

wherein I update you

We have a lot to talk about, you and I. It's heading toward late on this Friday evening and hulu.com is calling my name (let's not mention the dishes still in the sink) so let's be short about this, okay?


1. Our house? Sold. Closing date? June 15. Know anyone wanting to sublet their apartment in Rochester for the summer? Do we know where we are moving in August? Um, no.


2. H1?


All of 12 lb. 2 oz. at her last check up. I'm going to have a talk with her about bulking up. Oh, and today she rolled over from her back to her stomach for the first time.


3. Spring? Here! Last Sunday we took our annual walk in Highland Park to admire the magnolias. Heavenly.


4. L1?


As spunky as ever. Lately, he made the transition from crib to toddler bed. Bedtime is now officially a challenge.


5. W1?


Currently obsessed with spaceships and the planet Saturn. And dissecting things.

That about wraps it up. Look for a post next time about boxes and packing tape. Exciting, eh?

He's only 43 inches tall, after all

A week or so ago, we attended my younger brother's wedding. It was a perfectly beautiful day. The groom was handsome, the bride was beautiful, and they seemed blissfully happy. It was wonderful to be there.


At the reception that night, W1 managed to pry our camera out of R1's grasp and took an astonishing number of pictures. Now we have record of the wedding reception from his perspective.

The happy couple.

The groom.

Detail on the wedding dress.

The cake (there were several shots of this, I think W1 was hungry).

Cute bridesmaids.

Grandpa taking a rest.

Oh, there's grandpa again.

Mischievous groomsmen.

This is only a sampling of what he took. It doesn't include all of the close-ups of unidentified bellies.

I think we should hand W1 the camera more often, don't you?

Uncertainty is my constant companion

Currently, we are in California for my brother's wedding (congrats Myles and Heather!). While we are here we blessed H1 in my home ward, and caught up with old high school friends.

Needless to say, we have been seeing a lot of relatives and friends who we haven't seen in awhile and don't see very often.



Our catching up conversations have all been going a little bit like this:


Family/friend: What's new?

Me: R1 is graduating this summer!

Family/friend: That's exciting! What happens next?

Me: Well, we're not really sure...

Family/friend: Are you going to move?

Me: Maybe...

Family/friend: Where do you want to move to?

Me: We're not really sure... We go back and forth about that...


So you see, things are a little up in the air. Half the time, I want to sell all of our belongings, throw some clothes into a backpack and tell R1 to only apply to jobs in Europe. And the other half of the time, I want to move into a beautiful house (with it's key characteristic being that is has a least a bath and a half), plant some fruit trees, put in some asparagus plants, and stay forever.

But, until we know what is happening, let us embrace the uncertainty. Make no plans past August, don't buy the big big bottle of laundry detergent that does 264 loads, don't renew the cell phone plan, don't bother unpacking those boxes in the basement that were never unpacked from the last time we moved (in fact, maybe I should just get rid of those without bothering to look inside...).


One small exception: We really, really want to head to London this September to visit my brother and sister-in-law. Cross your fingers that R1 will be graduated by then, and everything will have fallen into place. Even just typing it here makes it seem a little more possible, right?

All shook up

Nothing says welcome to California like an earthquake.

It was far enough away that we didn't feel anything and wouldn't have noticed except for the sloshing of the water in the swimming pool, and the breaking news headline on cnn.com.



You know what else says welcome to California?

Oranges fresh off the trees, and fields full of strawberries. That's right, a full flat of strawberries for $15. Not just a tiny little carton for $3.

This might be heaven.

I wish I were an elderly British man

Here is one reason why.
(who else could read it like that?)




Lewis Carroll is at the intersection between strange and awesome.

like buttah

L1 recently discovered that he is strong enough to open the refrigerator. He is extremely happy to have free access now to things like yogurt, juice and entire sticks of butter.


Which is what he got out yesterday. And neatly unwrapped. And sat on the couch licking. With a wicked grin on his face.


I need to clone myself so that there is someone whose sole job is to keep an eye on that boy.