General

Did you know that your morning newspaper is delivered at 3:00 AM? I found that out this morning, when I got home just as the truck was pulling away from my mailbox. On the upside, we’re a lot closer to being done with inventorying all the yarn.

On the downside, I slept in until 9:15 because Carrie didn’t wake up as early as usual, and playgroup was at my house. At 10:00. My house which hasn’t been cleaned regularly in months.

After a frantic 42 second shower and lots of pleading, cajoling, threatening and bribery to get Carrie into clothes and downstairs, I did a mad dash around the house to put away the very non-toddler friendly crap that has accumulated in every corner and on every flat surface in all the “public” rooms. At 9:59 AM the coffee was brewing and I managed to eat a bowl of cereal…

And nobody showed up until almost 10:30. At least the house was clean. Ish.

There was a huge downpour while we were eating dinner, and as I was cleaning up the table after dinner I glanced out the window and spotted this double rainbow.

I’m pretty sure it’s the first “real” rainbow Carrie has ever seen – although she’s seen plenty in books before – but she seemed a little underwhelmed. I think she was pretty tired. So I thought I’d capture it for posterity – maybe she’ll like it better in photograph form. :)

I was cleaning out my refrigerator this morning, tossing a few things out and collecting plates to put in the dishwasher, when I heard the oddest sound. It started out as a loud, wavering “BeeeeEEEEeeeeEEEEeeeeP!”, and then resolved itself into “Beep! Beep! Beep!”…”Beep! Beep! Beep!”.

I realized it was a smoke detector going off, so I tried to stay calm. I’m sick and can’t smell anything, so I couldn’t tell if there was smoke. They dryer was running downstairs, so I ran down to the basement to check the laundry room – nothing, and the beeping was much quieter. I ran upstairs to check the second floor – nothing, and the beeping was quieter up there too. I checked the carbon monoxide detector – nothing.

So I called my mom, who ran over to try to help me out. I was trying to decide whether to evacuate the dogs and Carrie, but I couldn’t find any hint of fire anywhere. And no matter where I went in the house, the beeping got quieter – except in the kitchen. By this time my mom was here, and we determined where the beeping was coming from: the kitchen trash.

Denis had replaced the malfunctioning smoke detector in the foyer earlier in the week. And, apparently, he didn’t take the battery out before tossing it in the trash. As of this moment, the smoke detector is still beeping out in the trash can in the garage. I’m not digging through there to take the battery out!

I am just a zombie today. I went to bed at midnight, and then Carrie woke me up at 12:30 (she said she fell out of bed, but I didn’t hear a “thump”), 1:30 (her toe hurt), 3:30 (she needed a new bandaid, because the one I gave her at 1:30 had fallen off) and 4:30 (she wanted to snuggle). At which point I begged Denis to take over and he brought Carrie into bed with us. I don’t sleep very soundly when she’s in our bed, because I’m usually the one getting kicked, elbowed, poked, etc. Then when he tried to transfer her back to her bed at 7:00 she woke up screaming for me. It’s nice to be loved and all, but still…

At least I managed to talk her into sleeping for a bit longer so she’d have the energy to play all day, but then I couldn’t go back to sleep. Now it’s 4:00, and I’ve given up on trying to get her to take a nap – which means I didn’t get a nap either. I have no idea how we’re going to survive the birthday party we’re going to this evening.

We walked down to Main Street for the Memorial Day parade this morning. (If you know where we live, you’ll realize that walking down to Main Street really isn’t that impressive – it’s walking back up that’s the tough part!)

Carrie enjoyed all the sights and sounds of the parade:

We spent the remainder of the day at my aunt & uncle’s house, where Carrie got to play with her cousin Ben. My uncle cooked the best chicken bbq ever, and the weather was absolutely beautiful.

We were at the mall last night, and as we were driving past one of the retention ponds we saw the oddest thing. There were several geese (as usual). And in the grassy area by the geese was a young couple with their barely walking-aged twins. One was still in the stroller, and the other – I kid you not – was trying to chase the geese.

I wanted to roll down my window and ask the parents if they had ever heard of the term “goosed”, and oh, by the way, did you know that geese can (and will) bite?!? There’s a picture for the baby book, little Jimmy getting nipped in the diaper by a goose. Sigh. I really wonder about people sometimes…

Let’s see, eight years ago we were…eating cake? Or doing the bouquet toss?

Oh, how the years change things. Let’s see, we didn’t get each other cards – although we did get a Wii! – and instead of going out for a nice romantic dinner we grilled, invited my parents and my brother over, and went out for ice cream afterwards.

Now we have a completely hyper toddler bouncing around her room instead of being asleep.

Sounds like a good anniversary celebration to me!

In a completely impulsive moment, we bought ourselves a Wii. Our anniversary is next Tuesday (isn’t the modern gift for eight years a game console?) so we figured we’d splurge, since a) they’re really hard to come by, and b) they’re incredibly fun.

We played Wii bowling last night…I’m definitely better at Wii bowling than real-life bowling. Well, at least I can’t really remember ever bowling a 147, but it’s been a while since I actually bowled so maybe I have. I’m looking forward to learning how to play tennis. And there are plans for versions of Dance, Dance Revolution and Animal Crossing. Could be fun!

My sister-in-law Jeannie was the one who found them, because she was looking for one for herself. So she brought home two Wiis, and we had fun cracking jokes about “oui, oui!” and “wee, wee, wee, wee, all the way home”. OK, it was funny last night, anyway.

Anyone out there have a Wii? Any suggestions for a really good starter game for a 2 1/2 year old who’s never played a video game in her life? I imagine we can help her figure out the bowling, since my 4 year old niece was getting pretty good at it last night, but it’s always nice to have other options.