Monday, June 19, 2006

We Interrupt this Broadcast...

Just wanted to let all of our ravenous fans know that we will be out of town for the next several days. Abster and I are leaving on Tuesday to go to Mom's in Richmond. On Wednesday she (Mom, not Abster) will be having the other half of her epic dental surgery and we will be on the road to Oz on Thursday at the hiney-crack of dawn.

Dan will be kenneling Dakota (do we hear collective groans on her behalf?) We are not too happy about doing this, but our neighbors who normally take care of her are going to be just arriving home with their new baby and we felt badly asking them to care for our lovable pooch whilst adjusting to having a very small, yet needy human at home, so we did not ask and we are taking her to a doggy hotel. No doubt, WE will be the ones in the dog house when we get back.

Anyhoo, Dan will be leaving to meet us in Oz on Friday. He is flying back on Tuesday of next week and then Mom, Abster and I will begin our long drive back on Thursday or Friday, putting us back in Richmond late the next day and then I will likely recuperate there for a day before heading back up here with the little one. The only reason I would come straight back is if we had a contract on the house or something....

We will return in a week or two. If I can post from Oz, I will certainly do so. Otherwise, you will hear back from us around the 4th of July or so. Later, gators.

Friday, June 16, 2006

Dan's Time of the Year

Sorry I have not written in so long. This has been a crazy couple of weeks. First of all, I took Abster and went down to Chester to help my mom out after dental surgery (hers, not mine). She came through it, humor intact, and was back in full "Gamma" mode just 24 hours later. Gotta love her stamina. There will be no pictures posted of this event, as I value my life.

Dan's birthday came next. The big three-two. The highlights of it were that I brought him Burger King to the office (which is exactly what he wanted, thank you) and that mom made him a chocolate cake, which was also consumed at the office. It needs to be stated that he did not bring even the tiniest piece home to share with the wifey and princess. Knowing his humungoid sweet tooth, mom had the foresight to make extra and we had some of our own at her house before I left! I should note that he did share the cake with his co-workers, so that is good.

Abster was more than happy to chew voraciously on the envelopes from his birthday cards and generally make it difficult to open his presents. He was glad she was there and they had fun. His fun was getting the presents and her fun was that every time he would open a gift, she would throw it on the floor.

The last of the big news is that little Abster is now occupying space on the planet in an upright position. Go, you crazy, sittin' girl, you! We are so proud. What is even cooler than that is that she sat on her own for the first time while she and I were in the Sears portrait studio getting surprise photos taken for Father's Day, so he will be getting a professional photo of his youngest babe's first upright moments. Kewl.


Don't ask about the stitching progress. Just don't ask. Worked a little on the Mirabilia piece. That's it.

Just a teaser for the next blog - we have been house hunting in Frederick and found something we may really like, our home in Baltimore is on the market, Dan and Sissy are spending the weekend together in Latham, NY (close to Albany) and I am attending a birth tomorrow. Later.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

No One Likes a Soggy Book

My best friend visited me last week and we made the mistake of going back to the school where we both taught last year to see everyone. Talk about tugging at the heartstrings! If there was ever any doubt as to whether or not I would go back to teaching there next year, there's not one now. Thanks, Jenny. Now we have to pack up and move. All because you came to visit.

That being said, I have the best hubby in the world. He is willing to move nearly an hour southwest of here so that I won't have a horrible commute with Abster in the mornings. This, of course, means that he will be the one with the horrible commute. Actually, it is supposedly equidistant in time from both of our jobs, but his is longer miles-wise. My 35 mile commute is down back roads that only have one lane going in each direction. It is a beautiful drive through Loudoun County, VA which passes vineyards and large horse farms. The only problem is that if you get caught behind one of the farmers who happens to be out for a joyride on the John Deere, you are screwed. Oh well. Dan's commute will be 95% highway travel, so even though he is travelling almost 10 miles further, his drive will likely take less time. Plus, I will be the one in charge of dropping the Abster off at her daycare center in the mornings and picking her up in the evenings - so add a few more minutes there for us.

Aside from being able to return to my old job, and a slightly bigger salary than last year's, the other positives to moving to Frederick County are that we will not be living in the city and that we will be inhabiting a larger residence (read "single family home"!).

Getting a house ready to go on the market sucks. There's no way around it. And doing it while your 7 month old shows you how she can shriek at the top of her lungs for hours on end can sometimes prompt odd responses from the parental units.

A shout out to the best friend's hubby - let's call him....ummmm....Ed. I totally agree with you that, if you are taking a bubble bath and your book gets soggy, you should definitely call the wifey into the room so that she can rescue said book from the humid, bubbly splendor that is your own private paradise. Princess.

Teaching is Hard

I'm have been teaching in some capacity since 2003. I started out as a substitute teacher and did that while I went BACK to school and g...