Livin' in the Lou

Tomorrow marks the 3-week anniversary of us living in our new hometown and our new house. It is hard to imagine that we've actually been here that long. We did the vast majority of the unpacking in the first week, and since then we seem to go in fits and bursts with house projects. There is just so much that you could do, it is hard to prioritize what you want/need now and what can wait...and then wait until when? Carl and I are both happy with the way that the house is coming along though. We love the layout, and our things seem to work really well in the space. As I mentioned before, we have gained square footage and have rooms that we have never had before, including a dining room, a hearth room, a sitting room, a fourth bedroom, and a garage. It's pretty amazing considering that we actually bought this house for almost exactly same amount (in fact, just a little less) than what we sold our townhouse for in Baltimore.

We really do love everything about the house...except for the backyard. Our deck can't really be explained. Suffice to say, it was a do-it-yourself project gone wrong. The patio would be nice except that the guy did not do all the appropriate work before laying the bricks. So, it is uneven and some weeds are coming up through the bricks. The green portions of our "yard" are really weeds. All of that said, we get a ton of use out of it.

Since the deck is such an eye-sore anyway, we don't mind if Lily messes it up. We bought a new easel for her with the idea that she could paint on it while I do some of my painting projects on the deck. It works fairly well for a while, but inevitably ends with her bringing her dripping paintbrush over to where I'm working, a few redirections from me, and then a call for Carl to bring her inside with him for a little while. We also got a new sand and water table today which, of course, resulted in the messiest wet sand area ever. It was all good though. The messier the better as far as she's concerned.

In the yard, we have set up Lily's baby pool and her "big girl" pool. So, she gets to romp and frolic between the them which is just two-year-old heaven to her. Added to that, we purchased a Nemo ("Emo") sprinkler today to spice up the backyard action. I have also been desperately searching for a swing set for her for about two weeks to no avail. I have a very hard time compromising and buying things that I don't totally like. I'd always rather wait and go without until I can afford what I really want rather than buy something that is just so-so. It just seems like wasted money to me. But in this case, I really don't want to wait. I know she really doesn't care if the swing set doesn't have three slides, a rock climbing wall and a multi-level clubhouse. I will have to lower my expectations on this one and step back into reality because even if I could financially, you just can't justify spending the equivalent of one year's college education on a swing set - (okay, maybe a third of a year's college education, but still...).

I am currently job-hunting and have at least one interesting lead. We'll see if anything comes of it. Carl doesn't start his job until June 26th so we still have some time off together. We did rush things a bit on the Baltimore side of things, but it afforded us over a month to settle in together without working. I can't think of a time in the next 30 years or so when we will have this much time off together, so we are trying to enjoy and appreciate it for what it is - a truly lovely gift after 7 years of very hard work.

It hasn't been all pure fun though. Besides the normal stresses that come along with moving towns, buying/selling houses, changing jobs, etc., we also experienced an early-term miscarriage a couple of weeks ago. After having an unbelievably easy time getting pregnant with Lily, we have experienced anything but this time around. And so it goes. After some time, we'll try again, and I'm confident it will happen for us eventually.

Lily truly is a separate post. In a word, she is captivating. Of course, I am her mother, but the things she says and does! Every day, I am completely amazed - and amused - by her language. Unfortunately, my memory is awful, but I will try to give some examples of things she has said recently.

• Lily loves shopping. If given the option between going to the playground or going to the store, the store will win every time. When we were in Baltimore, Ingrid took Lily to Target, and when they pulled into the parking lot, Lily exclaimed, "I can't believe I'm here!"
• Carl was taking Lily upstairs to change her diaper the other day, and she said very matter-of-factly, "I have a problem with you." She then proceeded with some gibberish, but it was too funny.
• We were draining the bathwater one night, and she started talking to the water and asking, "Why are you swirling like that?" She continued to plug and unplug the drain, each time begging the same question of the unruly, bewildering water.

So, there is a much overdue update. We are looking forward to a trip to Indiana to see Carl's family later this month. Otherwise, we will continue to settle in and explore our hometown.