Here I Am

Ahh I'm back to the real world. TV and Internet. After a ten day hiatus amongst packing, moving and settling, the beasts are re-connected. I found out 2 things 1)the Internet controls my life, well at least my bills and 2)Ten days of no TV almost prompted me to permanently disconnect the thing, especially when we discovered what we were going to have to do to connect it! More on that later. The last few weeks have been mundane, necessary, and mindlessly busy.

#1 We sold our house. The whole process from sign-up to sign-down took about 4 months! We feel very fortunate that we found a buyer and could go through the whole process in such a short amount of time. We've heard horror stories. We moved the extremely long distance of a mile down the road. Familiar territory. Thank goodness no cross country or zip code changing here. I don't know how people move in one trip. I didn't realize I had so much crap! And I have no idea where I put it all, the Jed shed only held so much, and was not harboring any of my furniture.

Here are my favorite things about our new place.

1. The fridge has an automatic water dispenser in the fridge, with a fresh filter, which is key. Now Jara can happily help herself to water at any time and I am no longer the water girl/would you like a refill girl?

2. No carpet in the living areas, only the bedrooms. The ONLY reason I like this is because I have found a new enjoyable hobby called "rug buying" and there is plenty of flooring to rug. Oh and the fact that there are no more carpet mysteries. 3. New carpet, new paint, new tile, new blinds, ahhh the smells of new are balm to my allergies. 4. More kitchen cupboards. There may not be a single thing hanging on any wall, including a clock, and there may still be six boxes unpacked but my kitchen is organized and settled. Kitchens make me happy probably because they are the source of FOOD I mean sustenance.

Now on to the things I miss about our former place.

1. A nice hard driveway. I have had to put my car in 4-wheel drive TWICE since we have lived here all of 10 days. I am officially living on a sand dune in the middle of the forsaken desert. You might be a redneck if...?

2. My glorious yard peppered with my own blood, sweat and tears, on a quiet street. Corner lots on busy roads are limiting. As in-I can no longer wear my frightful reindeer pants to take out the trash anymore. And Jed no longer feels comfortable sporting my pink crocs when retrieving forgotten items from the car.

3. A sealed off crawlspace. Are you ready for this, we found 8 cats under the house, EIGHT!!! 3 Dead, 6 alive. Five of which were meowing baby kitties. We got four out easily enough but one was under there for an extra day or two and wouldn't stop crying, every time Jed would crawl into the crypt to get it, the little bugger would make a run for it. I was having heart palpitations listening to it, no mother can listen to a baby crying (cat or human) for that long and not lose it. Finally, the cats have been eradicated, duct work has been re-worked, and now a few days after I first began this post, the crawl space is sealed off. If there were any cats left behind, well, hopefully they will evolve into white cats with permanently enlarged pupils in order to survive.

Okay, back to the original numbered list of what's going on, and why I have been incognito, you mean you were confused. Anyway...

#2 I was taking a couple of classes in order to earn credits to renew my teaching license and procrastinated my 14 written essays/journal articles until the last 10 days, of course. I thought being older and wiser I would have all of my work done in a prompt and timely manner, ha-some things never change. However, many long hours at the computer with Junior Mints got me through.

#3 My children were laid up with fevers/flu nastiness. Perfect timing. At least it was at the onslaught of everything and not during moving fun, but it did delay necessary things that led to Jed and I staying up until midnight on moving day eve, on our 7th anniversary (nonetheless), PACKING. Good thing we like each other and are perfectly content to stare lovingly at each other over boxes and duct tape.

Well that's all she wrote, I'm going to bed now because today was a 7-load laundry day (and this time I actually put it away)/mop the mass of non-carpeted flooring/supervise Jed's honey-do list and frankly I'm pooped.

You'll be seeing more of me now.

PS-Princess Buttercup is happy and she is half-way to making her debut. Yay for 20 weeks!

Princess ButterCup

Last night I dreamed the baby's name was... Butter... Short for Princess Buttercup, of course. I woke up, told Jed and he promptly responded, "I like butter," then went back to sleep. Butter it is. No one will ever make fun of her or call her the name of a brand of turkey for that one will they? Did I mention we are having a girl, well we are and if you have a name suggestion better than Butter, I'd love to hear it, because what is better in this world than butter?

Jara Isms 4.0

Maybe because we read her too many modern books with sassy characters or maybe because we have a little mockingbird on our hands, or maybe Sesame Street is educational, Jara has come up with quite the quotes lately.

"I look like a goon." The fatal pronouncement upon viewing her Sunday church hair and bow, complete with malibu feathers.

As she is rolling in the warm desert sand, "I'm basking in the sun." In context and everything

"Jack is such an angel." Jack was sleeping and her hands were serenely clasped under her chin when making this observation.

"I'm incognito." As she hides under a blanket in the living room, that would be the Sesame Street word of the day.

Observing me after a BIG dinner, "You are getting fuller and FULLER mommy." sigh

"Thank you, I am so grateful." Gracious sentiments after I found her missing toy. It's nice to be thanked.

We must pause before the next quote to give you a little background knowledge, so you can fully appreciate the situation. At preschool we sing the "Days of the Week" song to the tune of "Ate a Peanut." Applying the knowledge of that song, Jara composed her own melody "I don't like Jed, I don't like Jed, I don't like Jeeeddddd anymore......" Poor Jed, it's okay, we were both laughing so hard we had to go in the other room, it was very quiet singing and all the while she was innocently playing, and Jed had really ticked her off. Thankfully we haven't heard the song again and no one else has claimed to either, at least that we know about.

From a Bike to a Trike

We are going from two "wheels" to three.

Baby three will be here by the end of August. Bringing great joy to an otherwise miserable month. I've never in my life looked forward to a scorching, desert August with such anticipation!

FAQ's
-Have you been feeling sick?
No, thankfully, but I do have an alter-ego that is hard to control.

-Do you know what you are having?
Not yet

-How far along?
14 1/2 weeks, but who's counting?

-So, you are not just getting fat?
hehehe

Jara is excited and has been telling everyone. She is collecting "presents" for the baby as we speak. Jack is oblivious to the upcoming end of his reign, it's better that way.

Watch Out

Today Jara and I dusted. Dusting is Jara's favorite chore and mine too, it makes me nostalgic for my childhood Saturday's spent dusting my grandma's house. Although in those days I got paid.

Anyway,

After I gave my little domestic helper the can of lavender-scented Pledge she gave a wicked little cackle and then called out,

"Here I come Dust Bunnies!!!"

I think I laughed so hard I cried. Where does she come up with this stuff?

The bunnies are no match for her 4-year-old abilities to wield a can of spray polish. Half a bottle later, every dust bunny was peacefully eradicated.

My Valentine

Isn't he cute?

Jed and I have been celebrating V-day for 12 years now.

The best Valentine's Day was the day he asked me to marry him.

The worst (the only bad day) was the year o' the gas-station singing gorilla. I know, I'll never let it go. It's okay its lost now.

Here we are seven years later, still celebrating.

He always includes a card with his presents and never forgets the roses.

But most importantly, he is my best friend AND dear to me in so many big and small ways. Big being, hello, he is the father of my children. Small being, he shares his pillow and tolerates my need to compulsively scratch at my dry, desert, winter flesh.

He makes me happy, knows how to calm me when I am angry, listens to whatever crazy thing I ramble about and is thoughtful. One year for Valentine's day he sent me, from half-way around the world, giant zip-lock bags filled with hugs and kisses banners (the little white flag that sticks out of the chocolate.) I still have them.

He knows me well. Well enough that he doesn't try to control my rages at the insurance lady anymore, it ends badly for everyone. Well enough that he makes the children disappear when he sees that "look in my eye." Well enough that he picks out clothes and shoes for me and they fit better and look nicer than anything I would ever pick out on my own.

I know you love your valentine too and I promise my mushy quota for the year is now filled. Isn't it nice to be loved?

We're Freezing Around Here

Saturday the kids and I were basking in 70 degrees of soul-warming sunshine. The cats were banished to the great outdoors during the night and Jack wore only underwear around the house.
Yesterday a monstrous wind began to blow "from the nort" (-jara) and combined with my failure to put the sprinklers back into hibernation, we have the great Wheeler ice age. I haven't seen icicles like this since the great...actually I don't think I have ever seen icicles in Logandale like this, well except in my mom's faulty freezer.

Guess we will be playing inside today. I think Jack's 4-wheeler is frozen in place.