Are You Tired Yet?

Sleep is overrated. That's what I've been told many times by many people. And I agree...except when it's not. Anyone who knows me knows I love to sleep. Love, love, love it. In fact, if I had to list hobbies, sleep would probably be number one. What beats curling up under a warm blanket on a chilly night with only your nose sticking out to be nipped at by the cold air? Or falling asleep in a sleeping bag listening to the sounds of crickets and bullfrogs singing you a summer lullaby? Or sneaking in a cat nap on the couch on a dreary rainy day when leaving the house seems like a bad idea?

My point is that I like to sleep :) And that's why I could never have Jeremy's job. Once we are living together again I'll have to get used to his schedule and the unpredictability of it all. He typically works an 11 or 12 hour day. At work by 6, home by 5 or 6 in the evening. But, he also has to be on call in rotating shifts in case something happens. After all, the railroad runs 24/7. And, of course, if something big and bad happens, he gets called out whether he's on call or not. It doesn't matter if it's Christmas morning or his kid's birthday or the middle of the night. And sometimes when he's called out he doesn't get to sleep for a long time. Case in point - on Tuesday he worked a regular day, let's say 6am to 5pm. He got back to his parents' house, ate some dinner, watched some tv, whatever and at 9:45 the phone rang. There was a derailment in Christiansburg and they needed extra help. I called Jeremy this morning at 9:30 and he was just leaving the derailment to go back to his regular shift. If you're keeping track that means that at 9:30am on Thursday morning he hadn't slept (except quick dozes in his truck) since Tuesday morning! And he was going in to work!! I don't see how he does it. He's a more resiliant person than me. But, on the bright, sweet wife side...I'm happy to take a nap in his honor... :)

Alaska, Part II

I just wanted to take a second to make two quick notes about next year's Alaska trip:

1. Deposits are due August 1st (or very very close thereafter). If you only paid the initial $25 then the next $225 is now due. Once this is paid you'll get your stateroom assignment if you don't have one already. And, remember, you can always pick a room now and upgrade if you want later on.

2. If you're not going with us to Alaska in September '09, it's not too late! Let me know and I'll get you all signed up. Bring your friends and your family, the cute guy down the street, your favorite bartender, that random chick that you work with...invite them all! It's gonna be a good time :)

The Trips Are Winding Down

Summer is running away from me quickly this year and our constant traveling through the state is coming to an end. Less than a month until school starts and we begin the moving process so it made complete sense when my mom called to ask us to visit. Once we move the drive to her house will take closer to 5 hours so we wanted to fit in a weekend trip before the road gets longer.

We got to Nana's on Friday and the evening started out great. We went to Angelo's for dinner and I finally got that cheeseburger I had been craving for over a week. We did a little shopping and then headed to her house and to bed. The next day we planned to go to a local state park or the local bald eagle preserve, maybe a movie or the beach. But, instead we awoke to bad news...Nana's fridge had conked out during the night and so we stayed in and waited for a repairman to come find out what the problem was. Time was ticking and the day was passing by so the kids and I decided to take a walk through the neighborhood to visit the local "beach." My mom lives on the Potomac River so it's sort of like a small, gentle beach. But, unless you're prepared with beach shoes (which we weren't) it's not really good for swimming because the sand is really coarse and rocky in most places. We weren't going for the swimming, anyway. You see, Nana's beach is called "Shark's Tooth Beach" for good reason. Along the river old shark's teeth wash up all the time. The last time we were there we found 2 or 3 and we were hoping to get lucky again. After making the 1/2 mile trip in the sweltering heat and humidity, we were happy to see the beach path come into sight. There were people fishing and people kayaking...a great day to enjoy the cool water. Unfortunately, our early afternoon timing wasn't so great and the tide was coming in. This meant that the rocky bars where we normally spot the teeth were covered in water. We made the best of it anyway, splashing in the water, getting our clothes wet, collecting cool rocks and shells, and digging in the sand.

Olivia is leading the way

Look closely and you can see Maryland behind them

Noah building a wall against the tide.

After we got back from the beach walk, we decided to head over to the local berry farm. We try to go every year to get our strawberries, blueberries, red raspberries, and blackberries. This year we were too late for the early berries but there were plenty of blackberries ripening on the vine and since I can't resist making blackberry cobbler and bowls of berries sweetened with sugar and milk, and handfuls of berries in the middle of the day, that's what we picked. Yummy. And did I mention they make the best shortcake in the world there for when you're all sweaty and tired from picking? Delicious cake, vanilla ice cream, and fresh berries all melting together in the summer heat. It's an excellent way to end an afternoon.

Looking out over the berry farm.

Noah and Nana picking berries

Visiting with the goats...

Cooling off after the harvesting. Doesn't Noah look thrilled? :)

All in all, it was a fun visit even if it didn't work out exactly as expected. The kids were exhausted enough to sleep in until 9 both mornings and, for me, that makes the trip more than worth it. Hopefully, even though we'll be 5 hours away, it won't be too long before we're able to go visit Nana again.

The Ball Keeps Rollin'

Despite all my pessimism and doubt and unwillingness to be sure that we were moving, it looks like things keep falling into place. We've received the relocation money, we've been approved for a lease, we have 2 Realtors coming out to the house this week, and the kids are learning lots about the new school they'll be going to. So, really, it appears that we are actually going to be moving. In fact, if things continue to go as planned, we'll be moving on August 28th - a date that is rapidly approaching. I'm excited and nervous and stressed beyond belief. We have to get the siding, shutters, roof, and gutters fixed before then (thank you homeowner's insurance! no thanks to a badly timed freakishly huge hail storm!). I have to finish some last minute painting. We have to buy new carpet for the living room, finish clearing out the backyard down to the lake, clean out the basement (again. sigh.), and get the flower beds back in shape. All that while figuring out how to transport all 5 pets to the new home, registering for the new school, doctor and dentist appointments galore, starting soccer and cheerleading practice (which starts much much earlier there than it does here), finding a great piano teacher (Noah has been going through piano lesson withdrawal), packing up the stuff the movers can't move, and all the other stuff I haven't even started thinking about yet. Adding to the fun? School starts 3 days before we move so we have to figure out the logistics of that and find time (a priority!) to see Howdy, my lovely friend that I haven't seen in what? 8 years! the same week :) Good thing I work well under pressure! Otherwise the excitement might cause my head to implode!! But, honestly, as frantic and nutso as I sound, I can't wait to get all this going and keep the ball rolling...

Olivia is Such a Girl

There is great joy in our house this week because Olivia has discovered that she has her first loose tooth. She's delighted to tell Noah and I how big she's getting and this means she's almost a grown up. These are things I'd expect to hear a 5 year old to say. However, I don't have a lot of experience with 5 year old girls (and it's been a long, long time since I was 5) so imagine my amusement tonight when we had the following conversation:

Olivia walks into Noah's room while I'm telling him good night. Her finger is where it's been all day - right on the wiggly tooth. Teary eyed, she looks up at me and says "I'm so excited I'm crying!" (Girlism #1).

I walk her into her room to get her to bed and she says "I need to name it." I look around trying to figure out what she's talking about and then it dawns on me. "You're going to name your loose tooth?"

"Yep, I'm going to name all of them as they get loose." (Girlism #2)

And, then, as I'm walking out of her room - "I need to put a blanket on it. And when I wake up in the morning I'm going to dress it. Like maybe put a little shiny bow on it..." (Girlism #3)

Oh, she is such a girl. How such an ungirly mother came to help create this crazy, dramatic creature I'll never know but she definitely keeps me laughing.

Happy Birthday, Olivia!

We are now the proud owners of a five year old...girl :) Liv's birthday was Saturday and the weekend has been a whirlwind of good times. We started off Friday with camping in the backyard, complete with pizza and cupcakes, good friends, fireworks, and a giant bonfire (nice job, guys). Then, after Jeremy and I were able to drag ourselves out of the tent after staying up way too late (but, really, who needs to sleep more than 3 hours?) we set out for a day of Chinese food, shoe shopping (yes, Olivia is a shoe addict), present opening, and build-a-bear building.

Jeremy and I were talking last night after the kids went to bed, wondering how in the world our teeny tiny baby has suddenly turned five. Is it really possible she'll be starting kindergarten next month? She's promised that she won't get any bigger but, somehow, I just don't believe her...

This is what five looks like...

Thank You

Thanks for all your finger-crossing, wish-making, and prayerful praying because apparently it worked. We got word that Jeremy is getting a relocation package. What this means is that the company (I always feel like I should write that in caps a la the show "Heroes" - The Company) will give us money to relocate plus an allowance to help us settle into our new city. It also, most importantly, means that if we can't sell the house within the next few months they'll buy it from us. So, while I'm hesitant to say anything is definite yet (because the pessimist in me is always lurking near the surface) it seems that we may be moving in the next month or two. We're all sad to be leaving Charlottesville, especially because we have so many great friends here, but we're excited that the four of us will be seeing each other every day soon. And, besides, we'll only be a couple more hours south so no excuses for not visiting us. C'mon, you know you can't wait to spend some time in Roanoke with us. It is the Star City of the South, ya know :)

A Week With Dad

The kids wanted to spend this past week in Roanoke so they could visit Jeremy and their Granny and Poppie in one glorious trip. They got to see Daddy every evening and hang out with their grandparents 24 hours a day. When you're 4 and 9 what's better than that? I joined the group on Wednesday so that the 4 of us could spend some extra time together. We shopped, helped rearrange furniture, played lots of Chinese checkers, and hit the Salem Fair. We had a nice relaxing time but the kids were dying to get home today to play with the neighborhood kids. Can't say I blame them. It's always nice to go away for a few days and then walk back in your own front door.

It's Official

Yesterday Jeremy found out that he's definitely being promoted to a new position (Yay! A raise!) and that they are keeping him in the same location. We're incredibly disappointed because we were obviously hoping to move somewhere together. So, we now have to deal with the fact that it could be another year or more before he gets moved again. And, while I don't mind Roanoke, after all the buildup (and close call with moving to Indiana) I was looking forward to the idea of moving to another state. Oh well, somehow we'll manage and there is always the possibility that they'll renew his relocation package (apparently, this is still up in the air). On the bright side? There's a tiny extra bit of cash added to the paychecks, he's officially no longer a trainee, and he still loves the work he's doing. We just have to keep reminding ourselves of the good stuff. Maybe this time next year I'll finally be writing from somewhere else :)

Monday's Quote of the Day

Olivia: "I need to wash my hands. I've been touching nature all day."