Treasure Trove

It's a good day when you: wake up to 10 aunts and uncles fawning over you, spend the day exploring cupboards full of treasures, discover some of the neighborhoods greatest sights from the arms of your grandpa and your bedtime story is a firework display you can see from the front yard.

Homeward Bound

My brother Chris is arriving home from his mission to Brazil today. He had a 9 hour layover at JFK, so early this morning Simon and I made the trek out there so Chris could meet his one and only nephew for the first time. I know Chris was super excited about this, espeically because Simon was born the day before Chris's birthday, so they are pretty much birthday buddies.
Some of you may be saying, "Wow! How many brothers and sisters does Lizzie have out on missions?" Just over a year ago I was welcoming Jarom home from the Ukraine, and a few months ago Abby came home from her mission to Everett, Washington. My family did have three missionaries out at once but in a few hours they will all be back home. It is a little bit strange to think about because except for a few months here and there, at least one of my siblings has been serving a mission since 1997. (Correct me if I'm wrong, Family.)

This means that when I fly home next week it will be the first time since Micah and I got married (3 1/2 years ago) that all of my siblings will be in the same place at once! I'm sad that Micah won't be there too, but I'm excited to stay up late talking with my siblings and letting them have some quality time with their favorite little boy ever.

Outsourcing

Several weeks ago I read an article by Laura Vanderkam (who was a guest speaker in on of my classes last semester) about subscribing to laundry service -- having somebody come pick up your dirty laundry and return it to you clean. She writes about doing household chores yourself versus outsourcing them so that you can spend more quality time with your family. I was a little bit surprised at some of the responses the initial source, Sarah, got from her friends. Almost as if they think she were cheating on her household duties by not doing the laundry.

I've been thinking about what household chores I would outsource if I did have more discretionary income or I could find someone to do it for me. I don't mind doing laundry, even though I have to go to a laundromat to do it. I don't love gathering quarters and sorting the clothes, but I do enjoy the relatively laid-back time spent folding the clothes while watching some tv on the internet and Simon naps, so it balances out for me. (I imagine this will change when Simon no longer naps as much.) What I really wouldn't mind, however, is for someone to plan meals for me. Meal planning takes up too much of my Monday mornings. I can make the list in a few minutes once I've decided what I'm going to make for the week and I love making the meal each night, but it is torturous for me to figure out what it's going to be. I just want someone to tell me what to make and I will gladly make it. Honestly. Get me a meal planner and I will do everything else around the house myself.

What responsibility would you turn over to somebody else if you could?

No, It's Not the Pink One*

We found an apartment. And it is pretty much everything we could have hoped for and nothing more. Two bedrooms. Big windows. Large kitchen and bathroom. More closet space than we have now. It's on a quiet street not too far from a very busy street. There's a branch of the library and a train station around the corner, and a laundromat on the other side of the block. If all goes well we can start painting and moving a week from Saturday, which, coincidentally, is when Simon and I will be in Utah visiting my family. So Micah will still have to do all of the heavy lifting, but at least he won't have Simon underfoot.

*It's the red brick one in case you were wondering.

Lucky Ducks

Simon and Samuel were lucky because they got to play together on Saturday afternoon. Samuel is a few months younger than Simon, but I think he could teach The Boy a few things about how to behave at other people's houses. Samuel's parents were lucky because they got to go see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. And I was lucky because I finally got to repay some of the kindness they have shown us since we moved here. The only one who lost out on the all of the luck was Micah, who was stuck in Wisconsin not doing the press checks he was flown out there to do. But he'll be back tonight, and then all will be well in The City.

(Except for the part about how we still haven't found an apartment and we have 2 weeks before we move and we have one week before I fly to Utah and will be gone until we're supposed to be out of our apartment . . . and if we don't find something before then, well, Micah will be a super unlucky duck because not only will he have to move all of our stuff, but he'll have to find a place to put it as well! Ha! Sometime when he isn't working his full-time job! Ha ha! But I'm not worried . . . oh, no. Not one bit. Ha ha ha!)

(Forgive me. It's been a long weekend.)

Rough Day

Yesterday was Simon's 15 month appointment with the doctor and it was one for the books. I'm sure it didn't help that he didn't really get his morning nap, and that his afternoon nap was cut short by being mostly undressed and having a thermometer stuck in his nether parts. But things didn't really get any better from there.

I'm pretty sure that no mom likes to hear that the doctors are worried because 1. her baby has not gained much weight in nine months or so and 2. despite the fact that he communicates quite well with his hands, he is now a candidate for early intervention because he has no recognizable spoken words. I'm not really worried on either account, because Simon is a healthy, cheerful, energetic, curious little boy. The lack of weight gain between his last two appointments could easily be because he started walking and, as I said, he communicates really well. But I am willing to follow the doctor's orders and get his hearing screened (although I do I think it is a waste of time because Simon can obviously hear just fine -- he responds to orders like a champ) and make him drink more whole milk and complex carbs to see if he can't pack on some pounds.

But that wasn't all. To add injury to insult, they stuck 5 needles in his arms (3 vaccinations, 2 to draw blood for an iron test -- they didn't get enough from the first arm so they had to stick his other one as well). It was a rough three-plus hours at the doctor's office, so we tried to make him as comfortable as possible once we got home. He slept like a rock last night, but when he woke up this morning he looked like this:I don't know how it happened, but doesn't he look like he got in a fight? I guess he kind of did . . . .

What is a mom to do?

My son has recently taken to stuffing his hand in his mouth to the point where he nearly gags. I pull it out and try to give him stern looks and a stern reprimand, but all I get in return is laughter and more hand-in-throat business. And when he laughs and is so excited about his game it is hard for me to be very stern, so he thinks it is funny and the cycle continues. This isn't the only behavior that I try to correct but end up being laughed at (and then laughing as well). I am sure that he will grow out of it, or forget about it and eventually he will learn the difference between when I am playing a game and when I am disciplining, but until then it is a matter of vigilance and patience to keep the boy from making himself throw up.

Kids are so funny sometimes.

A Weekend Away

This weekend we hopped on a bus and headed down south to Virginia. It was our second time on a long bus ride to another city and I think it may be our last. Maybe. Simon does pretty well, but he is just so squirmy that I feel bad for all of the people sitting nearby us when we try to keep him contained. But, just like when we went to Boston, the bus ride wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. And it was well worth the effort because we got to spend the weekend with Micah's brother Matthan and his family, whom we haven't seen for more than 3 years. In fact, Raina wasn't even born last time we saw them.It was pretty hot and humid, so we spent a lot of time indoors, which is fine because Matthan and Brenda have lots of fun board games to keep us busy. But we did manage to have a bit of a pool party one morning. As you can see, Simon definitely has the physique to wear beach attire.We also went to Jamestown and saw recreations of what it was like back in the day 400 years ago when the English started to settle there. The museum and the replicas were all very well done and interesting. I'm a sucker for anything related to American history, though, so I probably would have liked it anyway.