1. I learned that photos online and descriptions by owners can be misleading. Our house is so much smaller and older and more decrepit than I was led to believe. This will be the last time we rent sight unseen.
Here's casa Douglass in all its 1971 glory:
Not so bad from the outside. The inside is another story.
Here's the living room (that's the front door). I'm standing in Ben's bedroom doorway.
This gives you a better idea of the smallness. We won't even think about the kitchen and bedrooms right now (mainly because I don't have any pictures of them :) ).
*These pictures actually look O.K., upon review. They don't do the cramped, crowded, 1971 feeling of the house justice.
2. A couple of weeks after arriving, we took a vacation to Wyoming to visit Will's family. We'd seen his parents in November when they came out for Will's R&R leave, but Will hadn't seen his siblings in years (I was pregnant with Amelia the last time we were there). My in laws probably never want me to visit again. I was sick and miserable and unpleasant to be around. I hid in the dark, cool basement most of the week. Will and the kids had fun, though. I did venture out to meet up with a couple of old friends, Ryan and Julie. Will and I also celebrated our 11th anniversary while we were there. We spent a night in Salt Lake City while the kids stayed in Wyoming. It was a nice, though too short, break. The next day was a family reunion. All the Douglass kids and grandkids, with the exception of Tabitha, were there. I'll add a Douglass Family photo as soon as I find where Will stored them.
There's Grandma and the kiddies.
3. When we got back, it was HOT. Really hot. Super hot. Devastatingly hot. So hot I'm still not completely unpacked more than 2 months later. One of the upsides of our disco pad is a HUGE fenced back yard. So we got a pool.
*Note to anyone thinking about buying one of these: They're a lot of hard, physical labor. Especially if you have trees. Boy, do we have trees.
4. Will started his job in mid June. He teaches new Privates how to run the signal equipment. He likes the teaching part, but since the Army decided to get rid of drill sergeants, Will gets to do that part as well. He hates that part. I hate that part, too. He gets home late and is always tired (and cranky, but don't tell him I said so).
5. The kids and I spent a lazy summer trying not to be hot. Did I mention how hot it is here? It's HOT.
6. On August 11th, Liam and Ben started school. Ben is in 4th grade, Liam is in Pre-K. In Georgia Pre-K is free and is all day every day. They're both pretty happy with their new schools, and I'm pretty happy only having one kid at home.
Check out the crazed look in Liam's eyes. He was SO excited for school.
Both of them were most impressed with lunch. Ben talked non-stop about how much better lunch is here than it was in Maryland. "They have peanut butter and apple jelly sandwiches. Every day!!"
I asked Liam what he learned. He said, "I learned that chicken nuggets taste good dipped in apple sauce."
Everyday I'm regaled with stories of what was for lunch. They're obsessed. I can't imagine where they get it.
7. Meanwhile, Amelia is adjusting to being the center of my attention 5 days a week. She spends her days playing with ponies and princesses and "Bahbie" (she says it like a Mainer). She spends a lot of time letting me know how beautiful she is. How beautiful her hair is. How beautiful her dress is. How beautiful her Sleeping Beauty high heels are (speaking of, we finally have got her to say Sleeping Beauty rather than Sleeping Dirty). Self esteem is not an issue for her.
Here's a video of Amelia showing her true colors.
8. Birthdays! Liam and I both had birthdays this month. My friend Tina, whose birthday is two days after mine, and I had a joint birthday celebration. I'll post a pic or two when I get them from Tina. A certain husband of mine forgot the camera.
Liam turned 4 this past Wednesday. He wanted cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes. So, I made some. We took 24 of them in to his class, which stuck us with the other 24. Here's a look at the chocolate carnage:
9. In addition to Liam's birthday, Wednesday was also Ben's first cub scout pack meeting since we moved here. He's a Bear now.
10. A few other random tidbits:
- I find myself liking country music now, much to Will's horror.
- Ben's first friend at school is a kid who's doing 4th grade for the second time, has a mohawk and wears Mr. T type chains around his neck.
- I've gained 30 more pounds. I'd like to blame it all on my medicine, but I think southern fried...everything... has some of the blame.
- I currently have the worst haircut I've ever had in my life. And it keeps getting worse as it grows, not better. Between that and the weight, I'm ready to become agoraphobic and never leave the house again.
- Amelia decided she needs a bra (Look closely. Those are Princess sunglasses):
There. You should all be caught up. Future posts shouldn't be quite so long...
