It's a lot of pressure, really

Seems lately that everyone and their sister (including mine) is in the midst of baby-mania. Keith's cousin Brian and Gina just welcomed Hannah to the world.

Steve brings his baby (all 11 pounds of her) to the office once a week. I think babies are good for offices - I'm holding her now as I type. It's hard to be stressed with baby heat in your lap.

I have friends in every direction either eagerly waiting, or adjusting to parenthood. Everyone wants to know when it'll be my "turn" - as if the universe only allows a certain number of pregnancies on the great merry-go-round of life.

I'm here to say, I'm happy to just give her a shove for now, instead of taking a ride.

But I must say, there's a lot of pressure to not just be a parent, but to have a cute kid. And my poor children - having to compete with cousin Lane....


And then there's Grace...



But for now, I'm just a den mother, really...



And for those of you with human children, thanks for sharing them with the rest of us.

an actual conversation, while making dinner

S, to K: "Aw, sick dude."
K: "What?!"
S: "You stink. Don't fart in my kitchen."
K: "I didn't"
S: "Dang, then the litter box sure is ripe." (leaves room)
S, entering room: "I have a confession to make. Now that I leave and come back in, I realize it's not your butt or the box. It's the broccoli."
K: "I thought about that, but then I thought to myself, 'Nah, she knows the difference between my butt and our dinner.'"

Someday I hope to maybe blog something meaningful, but I'd be remiss to not document these kinds of "gems."

This one's for you, Meg

Ah, Tulip Time. It's not just Fat Balls, cross dressing, and Lemonade, folks. We're talking about an authentic celebration of Dutch heritage.

Dan and Meghan joined us for a Zoomer the other night (and a stalker drive-by of the new house). We timed it just right to see all the dancers walking by for a Klompen Dance performance. I made a few commentaries on the costumes - after 9 years here, you can't help but pick a little something up.

And just in case you thought I made it all up, look here.

And yes, they did in fact plant tulips in the shape of a windmill. Told ya it was authentic.

I'm on candid camera

Sometimes my work environment reminds me of The Office (secretly giggling at people taking their job too seriously, saying things they shouldn't even be thinking).
Other times, it's more like Dilbert (getting ticked that the day I remember to pack a lunch is the day they actually clean the refrigerator by throwing everything out).
Still others, it's Myth Busters (do they really pay me to do this????)

But for weeks, there's been a situation at the office that has been awkward enough for Seinfeld. There's a woman here who's obviously pregnant and hasn't talked about it. I have absolutely no idea how to break the ice and congratulate her. I'm almost ready to quit just so I don't have to face the awkwardness. She's wearing a dress today. It's time to say something...

Ho-lee crap.

We locked our rate today. We now know what we will be paying every month for 30 years. I'll be 57 by then, if we don't refinance. I also know the total sum we will have paid for our house including interest. I also know that although I hate every single principle of PMI, I just agreed to pay it because it will actually save us money in the long run. And by long run, I mean 30 years. Holy crap. I think I just bought a house. In Holland. I wonder if we get wooden shoes at closing...

the other side

I'm stranded at home - I've been fighting a nasty cold for a few days and decided to sleep until I couldn't sleep anymore this morning. I was up at 9am, ready to go, but Keith mistakenly took both sets of our car keys. He doesn't have the best bedside manner.

As I sit in my apartment, waiting for my ride (who better than the owner of the company), listening to the sound of construction, I'm struck with the fact that there are a lot of things I will not miss about 265 Union. Again, in no particular order.

• Windows that are bigger than standard size - we have the ugliest curtains ever.
• Hearing our downstairs neighbors come home and party some more at 3am.
• The fact that it gets to be about 115 in here on a summer day - a pleasant summer day.
• Not having a bathtub.
• Living on a one way street, surrounded by construction on all sides. That really sucks.
• Resenting the fact that we keep fixing stuff we don't own.

That's really all I've got - it really is a great place. I think I'll go sit on the porch and wait for my "bus."

Moving on

The packing has officially begun. And by begun I mean we've collected enough boxes, now we need to fill them. However, with the weather finally taking a turn for the better, I'd much rather be out enjoying our neighborhood. It'll only be our 'hood for another 22 days or so. There are a lot of things I don't want to forget about 265 Union - here's a few, in no particular order.

• The walk to Meghan and Dan's house being only 1.2 miles on the way there, and approximately 7 miles on the way back.
• Only making the walk to Meghan and Dan's house once.
• Missy, the spunky Shih Tzu who lives just up the street. She runs up to see us on our porch. Her mom, an elderly African American woman, follows behind. She talks to Missy like she's human. "Missy - how you gonna just run across the street - you trying to get me killed? Next time, you wait." Just recently, she told us that Missy told her "You must be crazy if you think I'm riding with you all the way to the grocery store in your cold car." I love Missy and her sass. And her mom is my favorite neighbor ever.
  
• Pepe, the HUGE skunk that lives under our neighbor's house. I don't like it when he squirts under our house, but a little skunk funk in the neighborhood is almost pleasant.
• The Samurai Warrior - picture Napoleon Dynamite's brother, then give him nunchucks, a sword, and some crazy ninja stunts. Yesterday, we saw him walking the street holding a cement block out in front of himself. He might look like a weenie, but I wouldn't want to be on the wrong end of those nunchucks.
• Drinking white chocolate mochas outside the Wealthy Street Bakery on Saturday mornings in my pajamas.
• The built-ins. Oh, the built-ins.
• Mary, our neighbor next door. She's a grandma now and lives in the house she grew up in all by herself. When Keith was traveling, Mary and I looked out for each other. She says she's not a cook, but our street's always full when she's making tamales.
  
• The three little african american boys who play in our yard. Last summer, they were always running around in no shoes, no shirts, but plenty of things to beat each other with. Come fall, they added shoes. Now, in the spring, they have shirts and mini short - gotta love growth spurts. These boys are best friends - I still don't know where they live, but I think they've spent more time in my yard than I have.
• Getting paid an allowance from the landlords for watering the yard.
  
• Neighborhood restaurants. I'm gonna miss these the most.
  
• Being centrally located. Walks to the fireworks, carpools to the beach or movie theater - it usually began here.
  
• Hearing Keith's mom calling to our cats as she goes into work, 6 doors down.

This is definitely an anxious time - one filled with anticipation, a little mourning, and a whole lot of financial stress. We still haven't locked in our interest rate - it's been climbing since this process began. Please pray it gets back to where we budgeted!