I'm strong!

No real stories to tell, just got a cute picture of Seth making his muscles. Tonight he was showing them off to my coworkers, he's usually pretty shy!

Geography Lesson

I just finished reading an online article my dad sent me about Hockeytown, USA, also known as Warroad, Minnesota, my parents' hometown. This is also where my grandparents live, and hence where Lisa is residing until spring. I thought you might want to see it on a map: As Nathan said at our rehearsal dinner, if you stand on a skateboard and sneeze, you'll end up in Canada...

I have worked several short shifts this week, so Seth and I have been homebodies this week. Seth had a speech evaluation Tuesday and though he is behind on speech, he is up to eight months ahead of the curve in some areas, so we are not pursuing therapy at this time. He has become a puzzle fanatic and went from needing help with single-piece puzzles to being able to put together an eight piece train puzzle with minimal assistance in less than 2 weeks. (Anyone interested in taking a puzzle shift or two please inquire to Nathan or myself.) We did make our monthly Walmart run yesterday and had a lunch date with Nathan...Seth sat in a booster for the first time and thought he was the biggest kid ever!

On a more somber note, my Grandpa Meek had a mild heart attack on Wednesday and is recuperating in the hospital. Lisa and Grandma spent all day Thursday playing cards with him. He is expected to come home early next week.

And on a happier note, Lisa and Michael both have been nominated for a new scholarship at Southern Seminary, technically they are competing against each other, but they see it as a win-win situation. We're so excited for them!

Why didn't I think of this before?

...if you can't get them quiet with one bink, just stick another in there! Seth used these binks last year as teethers, now they are playthings. He was throwing them across the hardwoods watching them spin, and next thing you know he popped up with both in his mouth! Silly! Now really Seth, don't you think you're too big for the bink when you can fit two in your mouth?

TA-DA!

Our mattress and boxspring came Saturday right before I had to leave for work and voila! we have a master bedroom now! Nathan and I made up the bed, and I made a stop to get pillows on my way into work. When I got home from work, my kid was upstairs, the dog was in her bed, and my husband was in dreamland in our new bed. He even brought my booklight down and put it on my nightstand! How nice! You know me, I like to pinch pennies, but I got a great deal on sheets and Nathan and I had found the comforter at an after-Christmas sale. I felt like I was staying at a nice hotel, everything was so comfy. (Mind you we've had the same set of sheets for our now guest-bed for over 5 years, and our comforter has been without stuffing for at least 3, possibly 4 years....I told you I pinch pennies!) And Seth slept all night, so no treks upstairs. Flash forward to last night...I come up the stairs to find the dimmer lights on in our room, Nathan snoring, and Seth asleep on my side in the bed with his butt up in the air at a seemingly uncomfortable position. I did not choose to see how roomy our new king was with Seth in the middle and carried him back upstairs. Hope this doesn't become part of the nightly routine!

First snow of 2007!

Last night the news said we were supposed to get snow this morning turning into a wintery mix (in NC that means stay off the roads) by lunchtime. By 7 am snow was sticking to the deck. Seth and I went to the grocery store (picture is of him taking the snow off of my car after shopping). By 9:30 the big flakes had stopped, and we tromped around the backyard for 20 minutes. Seth thought getting ready was hilarious...he doesn't have snow pants or boots, so he wore an extra shirt over his turtleneck, and extra pair of socks, and a pair of sweats over his overalls. He thought it was SO FUNNY that I was putting more clothes on him! He loved running around in the backyard. I wanted to show you how chunky the winter weather wear made him look, because we all know he's really half that size!

Ryan's party

Yesterday our nephew, Ryan, turned 2, and today was his party. The boys had a blast playing in the church gym and on the playground. Seth's favorite part of the day was when he convinced his Granddad (more than once) to push him around the gym in Ryan's Diego car (hey, that's progress...last week Seth would have wanted Granddad to take a spin in the car, too!). Here is a picture of the birthday boy, and a whole bunch of scavengers sneaking chips before the pizza was delivered!

Twelve hours later...

I mean, really, people. Back before I had Seth I could have worked a whole 12 hour shift in the amount of time it took my new furniture to be delivered yesterday. Around 11 I called to check on the status of my delivery, because I was never given any sort of window, and I prefer to get Seth out a little bit each day. During my inquiry I found that due to a transcription in our zip code, my bedroom suite and kitchen table were on a truck going to Winston-Salem (27102) instead of Clemmons (27012). Now I looked up our address using that zip, and no such place exists. Brain surgeons they are not. I am told by a man using broken English that he is sorry but my stuff will have to go back to the warehouse and Saturday it would be released for a new delivery date TBD. I have a couch coming Wed, but he couldn't guarantee everything on the same truck. I thought that was ridiculous and asked to speak to a manager. No one was available so I was referred back to the local store. The associate I talked to thought the whole thing was nonsense and assured me our furniture would get to us that day. The truck rolled up at 7:50 last night, and it took them until 9:20 to get it assembled. Here is a picture of the new kitchen table. Bedroom is still in disarray, so no pictures of that yet!

Now transmitting from Clemmons, NC

Okay we are officially moved in. I spent most of last week here at the house, cleaning cleaning cleaning. The whirlwind started Friday with TV delivery and cable set-up. Nathan took a half-day to supervise that, and I made my first Clemmons grocery run. My parents came over that evening and the guys brought Seth's crib over. He was one happy boy. Saturday started early (as it always does when Seth's excited) so the guys went to pick up the truck and the girls went to start packing more boxes at the condo. Thank goodness our cable had been accidentally turned back on so Seth could watch Noggin online. Nathan's parents and Marie and her family came to help load up, and we got almost everything in a 10 ft truck, the pickup, and Eric's trailer. I brought another trunkful yesterday, and probably one more remains. Seth napped through the whole moving-in process, and his cousins tested out the playroom. I am slowly unpacking boxes and organizing as I go. Seth is wearing himself out climbing all the stairs, and he is the official tour guide for whoever comes to visit. The pictures are of Seth "helping" me mop the floors, Colette and her new cousin Addie, and how Seth likes to eat in the new kitchen (this meal consisted almost solely of hushpuppies...note the beggar dog)