It's the end of May as we know it...

...and I feel fiiiiiine. Truly, I've been pretty happy around here lately. We had a wonderful weekend and on Memorial Day we had some friends over for an in-the-rain barbecue. We were inside but it didn't stop us from firing up the pit and making an event of it. When the rain let up we went outside and let the kids play (thoroughly soaking all of them in the process).

Shayna delivered the 7 lbs. 6 oz. and 20" long Bram Evan S. F. yesterday morning at 7:58 a.m.! And what a snuggly little precious bundle he is! He looks just like his daddy and a lot like his big brother. I've gotten to visit him twice already and behold his tiny beauty. Oh, and his mommy's recovering well also (she should go home tomorrow sometime).

Owen: Just turned 2 1/2 on the 26th! We had a birthday cake for him which he went berzerk over and cannot stop talking about. He's 33" and just under 27 lbs. He loves all things musical and all people who are nice.

Kristen: 11 weeks old today! 12 1/2 lbs. and about 23". Loves all things breast and is discovering the joys of sucking her hand (esp. the thumb).

Herb: Started teaching for summer semester on Tuesday and is already ready for it to be over (ha ha). He's been doing a lot of work on the house with me and helping me get the pool open.

Me: Weighing 138, so still 10 pounds over pre-pregnancy weight. However, this is not surprising considering that I eat too much! :D I'm looking forward to swimming with Owen soon ~ maybe that'll take some of the weight off?!? Work is over for now but I'll be teaching a lot in July/early August.

My Mom, My Sister, & Baby Aurora: Coming to see me this weekend! They'll probably be here Monday (they're driving from Florida) and will stay about a week. Aurora, who just turned 9 months on the 26th, has started walking already. Amazing! I can't wait to see them and have them here. One of the "projects" we're going to do is acid-clean all of the grout in my kitchen, which hopefully will result in a much cleaner-looking floor. I've done some of it already (not much, mind you, but some) and it makes a very big difference, so I'm excited about that. For fun, we'll probably also go to the zoo & some parks and play in that pool we've been cleaning for the last week.

Peony: Coming to visit at the end of June. YAY! She and her husband are moving to Germany for at least a year so I definitely won't get to see her for a while after this visit. They're such globe-trotters! It's just a weekend visit so we'll have to do a lot of catching up in a little bit of time. Poolside, baby!

Freaking Out A Little...OK, A Lot

When it rains, it pours. Pours rainwater & sewage, that is. We need a new septic system - everything but the tank - and that takes a few weeks to get in. In addition, we've had a buttload of rain and, consequently, leaks in the new building we had done in the backyard. That's taking money to fix (and it'll take more, as we're going to have to hire a landscape architect to design better water flow in the area so it stops going between the foundation and the walls and resting under the carpet). And I need a computer, as the one I'm using isn't really mine. Sooo...I'm sort of sad about money issues right now. Certainly it could be worse, and I shouldn't complain because we do save/invest a good chunk of money every month. But it's all in relatively inaccessible retirement accounts so, well, it's almost like that money doesn't actually exist, and a nest egg doesn't pay the septic designer or the backhoe rental company, you know? I'm glad I'm teaching this summer, because those expenses are going to eat up my entire pay and then some.

I was disappointed with tonight's American Idol vote...Chris went home tonight while the chick who forgot her lyrics remained. Mmmhmm.

I've got a long day tomorrow - work in the morning and then children until 9 p.m. Herb administers his last final tomorrow night (yay!), then grades furiously until it's done, and after that starts preparing his summer classes. I'm working until the 26th at least four days a week. I am looking forward to no more required site visits. They weren't so bad with only nine schools, but 19 sites is just too intense for this momma of two littles.

Nathan's sick. Poor baby's had a big fat fever since Monday night courtesy of this fool who brought her barfing child to the Kindermusik class Monday morning. Grrrrr. Thankfully, Owen and Kristen didn't pick up any of it, but it's nearly as bad to know N-funk's feeling...well...funky. And plus we miss our ta-ta and nay-nay.

In cute news, I stopped to buy some chips at the little gas station on the corner today, and the clerk had her son there. I struck up a conversation with him and asked his age (five). For some weird reason (well, he didn't look big enough to be five), I asked when his birthday was, and he replied, "Right NOW!" Odd, eh? So I asked if he'd like a dollar for his birthday. He even had manners and said "Thank you." A minute later after I'd finished chatting with his mom and as I was walking out feeling happy about my spontaneous gift, he excitedly told her, "Can you believe that lady just gave me a dollar like that for my birthday?"

My baby girl is growing! First, she's now a solid 11 lbs...maybe that and a few ounces even. Second, she's loooong-looking. Next week we go for her two-month checkup (and immunizations, poor baby!) and I bet she's knocking on two feet's door.

Owen's new favorite word? "Though." As in, "Owen give hugs, though!" or "Mine have crackers, though!", obviously stemming from mommy's usual follow-up to no statements. Example? "No, you may not bite; you can give kisses, though!" Ha ha ha!

We've been wildly busy the last couple of weeks. Work's going well, but I'm looking forward to the 26th when the final deadline for the academic year passes. It's finals week for Herb, so he's testing and grading madly out in his "shed". He then has a short time "off" during which he'd like to finish revising an article and during which he will have to prepare for the summer class he'll be teaching in June.

We were (I should say ARE) having plumbing problems, and it turns out our whole septic system except the tank itself needs to be replaced. *sigh* Just when I thought we might have some "fun" money this summer. I guess I just have to tell myself, "Buying a new septic system rocks! What a good time buying a septic tank is!" Yeah, right.

We also had a major leak in Herb's new "shed", so we got that all cleaned up and have been working on sealing the concrete wall in our "spare time". ('Sup w/me and the " "s today?) We've got the whole bottom done (which is where the water was coming in) and one quarter of the main wall's first coat of sealant applied.

Saturday was the fundraising garage sale we were having for La Leche League at my house. It was AWESOME - we raised quite a bit of money despite the weather. I was really impressed with the quantity of items we had (and sold), and everything was donated. On setup day I was really stressed and in a terrible mood, but on sale day I was much happier! We're having a follow-up sale this Friday to see if we can make a little extra and get rid of some more of the stuff, but it's not a requirement, just a bonus.