Valentine

While it has been six months since I've posted on this blog, it hasn't been nearly that long since I thought about it. Married life with an infant is definitely different. I'm not even sure what I want to write here at the moment.

As I've left my job and transitioned into the role of Stay-At-Home-Mom, I have enjoyed wonderful support from Jesse, as well as others in my life. There are days that I miss working with college students, miss planning for expansions and improvements, miss socializing with the variety of co-workers. But as I nurse TGM, read books with her, and mark her accomplishments, I can't imagine any part of that I would want to give up. I've tried to imagine what it would be like to go back to work--full-time or even part-time. And while the work part doesn't seem impossible, I can't imagine being away from her for that long and missing all the little things she smiles and laughs at during the day.

But this blog isn't about the newest love of my life, it's about the man who is my best friend and so much more. It's about the man who is supportive of my desire to spend all my time with TGM and works to make it possible! He doesn't complain about all the suppers I haven't made or the cleaning that hasn't been done. He listens to my long, rambling narrations of her activities. He accepts my concern about a rash or my frustrations at the end of a fussy day. And then he gives me a hug and plays with TGM while I work on what needs done or just takes break. I really have a great husband!

And today we did Valentine's day--our style. We took a collection of gift cards for Barnes & Noble and headed book shopping! We passed TGM back and forth, as we each browsed in our own favorite sections. I finally picked up my own copy of the Baby Name Wizard, revised edition! (A big thanks to SJ for lending us her copy at the critical time 7 months ago!) I also picked up a couple more board books for TGM. JM picked up a book that he wanted. I also made a list of books that I'm hoping I can borrow from the library.

After the afternoon at B&N, we stopped at Applebees on the way home for supper. As we ate, we relaxed and talked. We were actually between lunch and dinner hours, so we took our time there, without feeling rushed by crowds.

When we got home, Jesse decided to work on a project that we'd talked about earlier in the week. The washing machine hasn't been working perfectly--with every load it either gets out of balance or doesn't wring the clothes out thoroughly. While it still works, we are thinking we may go ahead and see about getting it serviced. Unfortunately, the positioning of the washing machine and the dryer behind the toilet in the half-bath leaves maybe a foot of clearance in front of the machine and only a couple inches of wiggle room on the sides--no room for access to completely remove the machine and very limited access to take the machine apart. It appears that if we were to trade the toilet in the half-bath with the toilet in the main bathroom, we would be granted about 3 extra inches of space in the half-bath. That would be enough to make it possible to remove the dryer, and subsequently the washer, when needed.

So Jesse began the process of removing the toilet in the main bathroom. Who knows when the toilet in the bathroom was last removed, and the bolts and washer disintegrated as soon as he tried to remove them. Removing the toilet also pulled out some of the tiles in the main bathroom. But as we were planning to re-tile the bathroom anyway, we decided to take the opportunity to do that too.

So currently, the main bathroom has no toilet and probably needs the board (the one under the tiles) around the toilet replaced. We removed the baseboard tiles, most of the floor tiles, and the floor vent. The half-bathroom also has no toilets. We have two toilets sitting in our living room by the front door. And, oh yeah, we have a guest coming in less than two weeks, as well as Jer coming next weekend. So in less than two weeks (and it would be nice if it were in the next week), we need to have at least one of the bathrooms put back together for our guest. But I expect it's good to have a deadline for these sorts of projects!

What is the point of all this rambling? That I have the most fabulous, wonderful, patient, loving, and supportive husband in the world! Happy Valentines Day, my Valentine!

Valentine's Weekend

This is a bit late, but not due to lack of appreciation. If anything, due to a touch of guilt that I didn't really do anything for my husband. About the only thing I can take credit for is bringing home a 25" tv that he didn't know we needed or wanted. (It was a freebie from a friend who just replaced the set with a set that works with the new digital technology.) He carried it in from my car set it on the table where it remains--not even within reach of a plug. One of the problems is we don't have much in the way that is sturdy enough to hold it. The little cart we used for our 13" inch tv isn't at all big enough.

Jesse and I shared a great Valentine's weekend! We relaxed most of the day on Saturday.

Jesse gave me a very special gift--a new hair sweep. We had picked up the first one last fall at the Renaissance Faire. I very much liked it--wore it practically every day. I could wear my hair partially up, all up, or switch in the middle of day, according to my mood with the same sweep. And once I put it in, it would hold my hair better than just about anything else that I've ever used. The artisans' website has some examples of their hair sweeps, but they has so many variations in decorative shapes that the website doesn't do justice to their work. I was very disappointed when, in a completely unexplained way, the main part of the sweep fell out of my hair and was lost while the stick was still in my hair when I realized it was falling down. That was back in the fall, just a couple of months after we bought it. So when Jesse presented me with a new hair sweep for Valentine's Day, I was very excited! I've been wearing it everyday again. :)

Saturday afternoon, went over to his brother's to share a late lunch made by his mom. We stayed for a while.

During the day, we still managed to make progress on the unpacking and storing things away. Jesse had picked up some more of the large (~60 qt) clear plastic storage totes from Walmart a while back. So as we worked on unpacking, things we don't need regularly (hammock, air mattresses, hand gardening tools, etc) would go into the totes to go out to the shed. I believe Jesse moved at least 3 of those totes out to the shed by the end of the day and we had a couple more partially filled. I had cleared enough boxes out of the kitchen that we are once more able to open the refrigerator door fully (at least as fully as the wall allows). And he made enough progress on the living room that when EmilyRose came home, she commented on it immediately. But still plenty of work to do.

Sunday after church, we dressed up and headed out to Middletown. We had lunch at the Wayside Inn. The Inn is an old building in the town. All the servers were dressed in colonial dress to add to the old-time atmosphere of the place. The buffet was very good. Then we headed down the block to the Wayside Theatre to catch the musical performance Southern Crossing.

It was a very enjoyable weekend. Thank you, my Valentine!!