With Lee and Ben in Iowa for an Order of the Arrow conference,
we got Gram and Aunt Meghann to come to Clayton and visit with us
before we leave our homeland to wander about in Franklin County until
the new house is done.
Mind you, if you asked them, I'm sure they'd tell you the real reason
was to get a Nicholas fix but we really know they just wanted one
last time in this house in Clayton. :)
Seriously, it was nice having the two of them up here to get their fix
(among other things with a certain someone who will remain nameless but
Eagle-Eyed BLOG readers will know had a birthday recently and it's *NOT*
Aunt Nadine!). After relaxing a bit (and letting the rains pass!), we
did the obligatory trip to the site so they could see the house taking
shape. At this point, the framing is done for the most part and they
had just installed some temporary stairs to let us get up to the second
floor for the first time.
On the way back to Clayton, we showed them Lake Benson Park which is
about a mile away which will be really nice for picnics or just general
running about behavior! :)
Dinner was the true essence of elegance to give them a taste of the
camping out we're doing for the next month here...Bojangles chicken
served on styrofoam plates. Hey...that bird tasted good and the dishes
were packed so with an alternative of eating it off the floor, styrofoam
suddenly isn't so bad! ;)-
After that, it was time to hang out some more and Gram got to watch
Nicholas get his bath before it was time for them to head back south
for a while. Our best hopes and wishes go out to Aunt Meghann who
enters Methodist College in
Fayetteville this fall and our best to Uncle Ben for continued success
at Fayetteville Technical Community College.
It's not quite done yet but we're now getting actual walls in the place
so naturally Nicholas had to play building inspector today. And why
not when he does so many other things so well...like being a
cute baby, a big-time Don Juan, and all of the other
things he does so well.
The construction site itself isn't really conducive to someone who is
still figuring out this walking and balancing thing but he did pretty
well, all things considered. And boy did he need a bath when he got
home because he was filthy from head to toe. Those belly flops into the
dirt probably didn't help!
But he sure knows his way around a house for once he was in the house
itself, he had no problems navigating his way from room to room. He's
in for a shock when the drywall goes up and he can't go between the
studs but that's a problem for another day. :)
Mommy had an appointment over at her consultant's office today and we
saw a pretty remarkable thing on the monitor screen. It's amazing to
think that something 2.5 cm in length will be Nicholas' younger brother
or sister round about 12 February 2005. We don't know what gender is
in there (hmmm, that rather rhymes!) and if this one is like his or her
older brother, we may not find out at the 14-16 week mark that is
customary. Whilst we'd like all of our friends and loved ones to think
pink, we'll be thrilled with whatever we get as long as the kid is
healthy.
Since the last ultrasound, they've changed their setup so that there is
a monitor screen visible to the mother-to-be and her entourage.
Our theory was that the sonar technician was tired of a bunch of freaks
hovering over her and her equipment, but we're willing to allow for them
wanting to give Mommy a good view (isn't it amazing how long it takes
to account for SEEMINGLY OBVIOUS innovations like letting a mother
watch her own ultrasound and that no one had thought of it
before?!?).
Anyway, the sonar technician answered the most important question (well,
for Daddy at least!) and I'm pleased to report there is only one kid
in there. (Ed. note: SWEEEET! :) She also indicated that
she's never missed one yet! (Ed. note: TOTALLY SWEEEET!)
Everything looks just fine and we got a very strong return on the
heartbeat at 165 beats-per-minute.
We've actually known since the seventh of June that Mommy was working
on kid #2 but have been rather tight-lipped about it until we could get
official confirmation (not that official confirmation was actually
necessary...we were more than convinced by the positive pregnancy test
and the symptoms that started soon after!). Daddy's boss (Barbara)
actually figured it out straightaway but as she went on holiday for two
weeks, there wasn't any point in trying to fool her...they just have
this way of knowing things.
Here's hoping this pregnancy doesn't have quite the excitement of
Nicholas' and goes the term that it is meant to go. Not only will we
be satisfying Cosby's First Law of Parenting (you have to have more
than one child to be a real parent because there is a whole
class of problems parents of single children don't even experience...
i.e. will you stop touching me!) but I think that Nicholas
is going to be an excellent big brother.
Whether he wants the job or not! :)
Yep, that's right...we're on the way back from our quick trip to Florida
and to what is soon going to be our previous home! We had finalized the
details on the deal over the phone on Thursday last and the flag is
expected to be officially transferred on 1 Sep 2004, two weeks short of
what would have marked the beginning of Daddy's eighth year in the house.
That's a rather singular achievement as it's the longest Daddy has ever
lived in any one place but we're looking to beat that record in the new
house.
Speaking of which, we had to stop by the site on the way in to the house
and noticed that the footings for the foundation had been poured so it
won't be long before there is the rest of the foundation in place. To
give you an idea of how fast these things can go, there are two other
Angela's (both C's!) being built...the second one was nothing but
a foundation when we left for Florida and when we got back to Vandora
Pines, it was already framed and getting shingles for the roof! I
suspect we won't be homeless for very long...
Yep, you know what's coming here! A bit of time on the beach for all of us in the afternoon. The following tips are how to tell tourists from locals in the greater Daytona Beach area:
In our grand tradition of honoring birthdays, this afternoon found us
celebrating our July birthdays: Mommy and Aunt Nadine (technically,
Gramps' Aunt Nadine but honestly, Daddy wasn't all that keen on wading
through great aunt every time whilst growing up...even though she
is a great aunt!) We've even got an anniversary in there this month...
congratulations to Aunt Betty and Uncle Roger a little bit early (yeah,
yeah, another great aunt but the former rule still holds! :)
You know the drill by now, right? It's everyone's birthday
featuring our intended victims...errr...honorees! That means enormous
amounts of food, presents, gazing at a rather cute baby who likes
wearing what he eats, and the customary squabbling over who is
taking what leftovers with them afterward! (OK, I'm just kidding about
that last bit however Daddy does remember the negotiations after family
get-togethers over who was taking what food home with them and I can
honestly tell you that the Middle East peace process has nothing on this
set of negotiations for complexity! :)
After everyone had cleared out, Grandma Carol stuck around for some
games of Sequence and a good time was had by all. Even a little
certain someone got in on the action...he was more into playing with
and occasionally eating the poker chips you use to mark your spaces on
the board but that's his prerogative!
You know, our life isn't really exciting enough...what with selling our
house, building a new home, and all of the other interesting things to
see and do. What else is there?
I know! I know! Pick me...pick MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Well, it's not Duloc but it is a big case of sensory overload and
we're on the road to go find it. I think we'll have a good chance of
that at journey's end. The trip is pretty much simplicity itself...find
our way to I-95 and then maintain a base course of 165 until we get to
the one and only exit for Port Orange. We stopped for our usual mid-trip
meal at Cracker Barrel, this time in Walterboro, SC. There were
two more stops, one in Eulonia, GA (home of the most expensive gas on
I-95...unfortunately we didn't have enough on-board to make Brunswick
20 miles further on where the gas was thirty cents cheaper) and then
one other one at Cove Springs Road just south of Jacksonville in the
middle of the usual afternoon thunderstorm.
We probably ought to talk about that for a bit...we were accused of
bringing the rain with us from North Carolina. You know, that theory
might well hold water (ha ha!) were it not for the fact that our forecast
was sunny with no rain in sight and the only rain we encountered started
right at the Florida state line and continued all the way to Port Orange.
At our Florida stop, the power flickered briefly as a result of the
lightning striking awfully close. That's bad at the best of times but
it really stinks when you've stepped updeck to the head with a squirmy
little one. Fortunately, Florida Flash & Flicker restored power instantly
and we were able to proceed without incident.
Well, that's if you discount the notification (right at the Florida
state line!) that we had an offer coming in on our current house from
the people who had viewed it after we left for Florida. This was their
second time in the house and we're guessing their parents are moving back
from the coast as selling their current house in Carolina Beach is the
contingency. We're in the process of sending a counter-offer back to
them so we'll see where it goes. We may well have to find a place to
live before our new home is completed but even though that's a bit of a
headache, it's better than having to pay for two houses waiting for our
house to be completed. Of course, we'll see if that's the same tune we
are singing when we're in the middle of that mess but that's something
for another day!
We arrived at Gramps' house safely and the promised sensory overload was
waiting for us. And little one had a ball...9 ½ hours in the
Escape (of which a little under eight hours was time underway) pretty
much guaranteed tons of energy that needed to be expended. That rather
reminds me of a joke the EPCOT tram operators often told of people parking
in the Energy parking lot: energy is that which your
kids will have at the end of the day...but you will not! Ain't
that one the truth, fearless readers...Mommy and I were so ready to
collapse into bed after all of the day's excitement and we did...many
hours later!
You know, we don't really remember much after that... :)