Blech. I hate posting these, but just couldn't get to the 'puter to blog the past few days- so, grab a container of your favorite relaxing beverage and come visit.
Today:
We drove to DC today (I emphasize DC because I spent the last week thinking The Kennedy Center was in Baltimore! Woops! *ahem* My apologies to the City Dwellers who know better.) SO, we arrived in DC, just the three of us: James, John and I. We enjoyed a wonderful performance by Balafon, a West African dance and musical troupe. The energy these performers have makes a room full of toddlers look lethargic. Wow. It was a riveting and touching performance, and we all enjoyed it tremendously.
We also got caught in the space-time warp that exists up that way. I can get there in an hour and a half. I cannot get home in less than three and a half hours. Exits I took going up are non-existent heading the other direction. Streets that ran perpendicular to the streets I need suddenly loop around and drop me off in Delaware (or thereabout). Interstates end. Just end. For no apparent reason other than an Eighth Dimesion ripple. Fortunately, I know this will happen, so we stock up on snacks for the ride home. *grin* Made it home without anyone starving to death. Now that's a successful trip.
Smidge hung out with Daddy, who was sick, but offered to keep him anyway so we could go. They had fun. They napped a lot together. That's quality bonding time (and oh, how I wish somebody had snapped a picture! I just love to see Daddies sleeping with their Babies!)
Everyone had a blast, but it was clear when we arrived back home that the family unit is happier as a complete unit. The boys doted on Smidge. Smidge snuggled, wrestled, and laughed non-stop. I basked in the glow of all of us together. Zorak just oozed happiness all over the boys. That was the best part of the day.
***
(If you're tired of house hunting whining, skip to the next set of asterisks...)
It seems we've found another realtor who does not understand that a LOW PRICED two-bedroom shack which is about to fall down smack in the middle of a great neighborhood is right... up... our... alley. We found a little place for way cheap (relatively speaking) last night on the MLS searches- emailed the realtor immediately with a "WE WANT TO SEE THIS OVER COFFEE IN THE MORNING, PLEASE" note. She called to say it's already under contract.
Yeah, seems she saw it come into her office but didn't bother to give us a call because "it's only two bedrooms". What? We are only using two bedrooms now! We've had this discussion. The stacking, the Naval bunk references, the whole beggars can't be choosers thing... remember? That was, what, a week ago! It would take clay to truly recreate the expression. WHAT? Ok, so we couldn't add a third bedroom for the SEVENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLAR DIFFERENCE? *sigh* Guess not.
And you know, this isn't our "forever home" we are looking for here. This is our "investment to cash in on in a couple of years so we can find or build our forever home." I'm okay with a shack. I'm actually hoping for a shack. I just don't want to pay extra for a shack that somebody has put new paint and carpet in, because if that sub-floor needs help or the addition needs adding, we'd rather do it ourselves so that we know it's been done correctly.
Why am I having trouble conveying these concepts?
****
Yesterday:
Yesterday was the wonderful library run! Those are just so much fun. We took Zorak with us, which was great. He hadn't been to the library with the boys before. He generally uses the one on base, which has all the appropriately engineer-like books he usually reads.
I did take advantage of the opportunity to browse the Grown Up section all by my lonesome without that loathesome "Security Officer" lurking about near the kids. (He is, perhaps, the one and only unpleasant thing about that library.) Anyhow, that was surprisingly refreshing!
Does anybody know how to pronounce the "Mma" abbreviation in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books? Is that "Mama"? The rest of the pronunciations I've been able to figure out, but that one keeps stumping me. I like to make the right sounds in my head as I read.
Picked up the next three Aubrey books, too. *sigh* *happy sigh*
****
School:
Yesterday the boys both actually begged me to keep reading from Story of the World. They have enjoyed hearing about King Cyrus, the Medes and the Persians. That's a good feeling.
The new schedule is really quite nice, and I have found that we are accomplishing more in less time with the new twist to the morning.
That is about it. Supper tomorrow with some folks from church. We're pretty sure it's a trap, but that's okay. We can always pinch the baby if we need to make a quick get-away. And if it's not, then it should be a lovely evening. :-)
Have a wonderful evening, all!
And Kiss those babies!
~Dy
8 comments:
I bow down in admiration. You took your kids to D.C., and actually found your way back to your dwelling place. Kudos, my friend!
Dy, you are my hero! I've only been around DC once, and it was rush hour, and it was raining, and I wasn't driving, yet I was a nervous wreck. The fact that you will do this solo is so cool! I'm a big suck when it comes to driving in big cities. I guess it's because I live in the sticks and I'm not used to traffic anymore.
Hope the house thing resolves itself soon!
Your househunting cracks me up, and we can SO relate! It's sick for the $$ they earn, but my Knightlett in Realty Armor has taken to not trusting realtors to do ANYthing for us. If it's important, she does it herself.
DC driving is a nightmare. I have only ever ridden motorcycles there and I can attest that DC has the most poorly maintained roads in the country. That's where I learned what a frost heave was. For nasty, hateful, Road Warrior traffic, though -- you can't beat Chicago.
Could MMA be an abbreviation for Madamoiselle? Are they Unmarried French Lady Detectives?
:)
-Chris at Barking
Why is it that blogger comments take 5 minutes to load this "leave a comment" window? I have DSL! I'd post more often, Dy, but I get frustrated.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Realtor,
We want a shack. A shack that doesn't leak or have obvious ick. A shack that isn't hideous beyond imagining. A shack that has a yard. A shack that has nice neighbours. But a SHACK. We are not status-seeking morons desperate to impress complete strangers with the foolishness of our mortaging practices.
Small is good. Shack is good.
Respectfully,
Dy
And that last comment was Sarah from Poppins.
Dy,
One great side benefit of these house hunting posts is that I am becoming so happy, so content, thrilled even, with my own home. Next time I am confronted with the lack of intelligence of my (insert the worst sort of expletive here) neighbors, I will smile and say, "Hey, we are not house hunting today! What a happy thought.
California (even in our used-to-be- cheap area east of Sacramento) is HIDEOUSLY over-priced, so we know the pain of house-hunting. May you find the perfect shack for your family!
Good hunting!
Diane
I don't know that I've ever actually driven in Washington D.C. I did live there for a few years. But I walked or biked everywhere.
I was a bicycle messenger in D.C. for over a year. Orange hair. Cute butt. Ah, I could eat ANYTHING that year :)
AK
You guys are cracking me up!
Melissa- you have got to do the Bohemian Travel with me. I can't guarantee we won't find the same cop who helped you out, but we'll have fun doing it- and the kids could be wonderfully scarred for life! It's great!
Chris, you haven't actually driven in Pittsburgh yet, have you? I gave up on having hubcaps on my car. It's actually against the LAW to asphalt over a deer on public roads in PA. It's a wonderful adventure! I agree about the Chicago traffic, though, that's some serious aggression, there.
Sarah, you can always just email me. :-) I love hearing from you. Oh, and I love your letter- only I'd amend it a bit.
It can leak. I am willing to go as far as I must, as long as the whole structure doesn't need to be stabilized before we can set foot inside. Anything else is pretty much fair game, too- cracked foundation? I'm good w/ that. Roof is flapping in the wind? No problemo. Abandoned? Cool! Drainage problems, even. But NO. I cannot find this b/c everybody throws down "new paint and carpet" and ups the price. Bah!
Alaska- I could not be a bike messenger in any town larger than Mayberry. I'd break my own neck inside three months! I'm in awe! :-)
Dy
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