Multi-Grain Cheerios, Raisin Bran Crunch, Life, Cinnamon Life, Grape Nuts, Grape Nuts Flakes, Rice Krispies, Lucky Charms....

The list goes on. I really love cereal! I've been known to eat it for dinner or lunch. It's not just for breakfast anymore! In pregnancy, its been my favorite late night snack. Yum, yum.

Here's the confusing part- my daughter hates it! Well, she doesn't really know, because she's never tried it. Besides cheerios as a baby, the child won't let a single Krispie pass her lips. AND, on top of that, milk is just about her favorite thing ever. How on earth can you love milk and not like cereal? I've tried bland cereal, sweet cereal, cereal in the shape of her favorite chracters... nothin'. It has baffled me for three and a half years. Seriously.

And then, July 23rd rolled around.

It began with the idea of making Rice Krispie treats. "Sure! I'd love to help," says three-year-old. Which means her eating marshmallows. Then, she moves on to the pre-measured bowl of Rice Krispies... I use my stealthy peripheral vision and watch as she pops her first krispie in her mouth... three-year-old shrugs her shoulders and says, "that's not bad!" Casually, I say, "yeah, they're pretty good, huh?" I feel as though I've got Rice Krispies popping in my heart!! I can resist no longer and start to talk about how she's never tried cereal and I'm so happy that she likes it! She begins shoving handfuls in her mouth.... its a beautiful sight. I pour her a little bowl and give her a spoon... milk? I ask.... no way, mom.

Still, its a step in the right direction.

It's time. It's time that Jeff gets some serious props for all of the hard-work he's been doing around here. Right now there are squeals of joy coming from a 3 year old in the basement playing "soccer ball" with her favorite person ever. Shortly, they will be going to the park and to Taco Bell while I go hang out with my friend. This, after an entire day of nursery painting- where Jeff did lots of stuff he didn't want to do (2nd coat of blue, start of the baseboards, deal with said 3 year old who wants to "watch").
Here's the deal. I'm kind of useless around here lately. Sure, I've got a big baby messin' with some stuff... something is going on with my elbows where I can't do much that requires fine motor skills (i.e. painting). But here's how Jeff responds- I sleep in most days. I started the painting project, painted for maybe an hour, got too tired or painful, and Jeff continued to paint for the next six hours. He's fixed everything around here. I rest on the couch. He's constantly playing with Avery. I play solitaire on the computer. He gets me stuff upstairs all of the time. He's always straightening up the garage and the basement. He's getting his master's degree. He's got to go study. But he doesn't stress and happily paints the nursery.
Gotta go hang with my friend. Hard-worker of the year. Good ole' Jeff.
OK, things are a bit better now! The constant need for repairs has subsided and we're beginning to get unpacked. We still have a major repair and servicing to accomplish- but for now, we needed a bit of a break. We are currently in the midst of getting our hardwood floors refinished. The look pretty awesome! It's quite a process however and requires us to leave our house for several hours per day. Then when we come back- there is much leaping over the entry way floor (quite a feat for someone who will be giving birth next month) and waiting outside for the fumes to clear out. Tomorrow the last coat of the shiny stuff will be applied and the job will be done. We're not supposed to walk on the floors or move our furniture back for another three weeks. Hmmm, that should be interesting.

Otherwise, we're starting to get to know our new little town. It's pretty fun. It feels a bit like a smaller town, but has all of the stores and restaurants you could ever want! The neighbors are all still really friendly. They hang out with each other a lot! I mean, really.... a lot. Here is what we've witnessed so far- they all keep their bbq grills in front of their garages, because they seem to grill together all the time- movie projected on a garage with giant speakers- the next night, Wii video games on said garage- lots of fireworks together- lots of men wearing cut off, sleeveless, t-shirts- did I mention they hang out together a lot?- tv's in garages with various neighbors watching various shows... I don't know quite what to make of it all yet. I suppose its better than snooty neighbors who don't socialize at all, but maybe is it too much??

The Eads family came for a quick visit today. That was fun- we haven't seen them or spent serious time with them in a long time. It wasn't ideal circumstances- we couldn't step on the floors and had to entertain the four kids somehow. But some time at the park and some time outside was fun for all!

Someday we'll find our camera and get some pictures up for y'all. Until then, just picture a big mess, lots of boxes, and furniture in random locations. Yup, its our life.