Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Toad Hollow, population 4

I'm going to make a miniature version of one of those signs you see when entering a city so I can post it above the window well outside our basement laundry room.  In case you haven't heard, Minnesota has been alternately cooking and drowning the past several days.  This has led to a doubling of the toad population in our yard. (And a train derailment due to the washout of a train trestle over a creek that feeds into the Mississippi River - but that's a post for another day.)

Prior to all the rain, two toads (one big and one little) made their home in the window well.  It's a good environment for them - it's shaded, there are some leaves and bricks in the bottom to provide cover and (when the light in the laudry room is turned on) they have plenty of bugs to eat.  Tonight when hubby went out to cut the lawn he found two more toads (one more big and one medium) in a different window well.  Thinking that they would fare better in the laundry room window well, he relocated them.  Right away they started snacking on the skeeters and other insects.  We'll check on them tomorrow and see how the colonists are faring.

The Backup Plan

Sunday night hubby and I watched this movie after getting the little guy to sleep.  It felt a lot like a spontaneous date night in - complete with a bowl of microwave popcorn and a Diet Coke.  We laughed all the way through the movie and kept looking at each other and saying "That was totally us getting ready for the little guy!" as J. Lo and her cute farmer alternately shopped for baby gear or checked in at the OB GYN.  It felt good to laugh together and steal those moments while the little guy was fast asleep in his room.

The bit about the custom stroller was apropos and appreciated by hubby since he was in charge of researching and picking out our stroller.  He, stereotypically like a lot of other men, is fascinated by useful gadgetry.  He also had some very stringent criteria for picking a stroller: it had to be lightweight, easy to fold, manueverable, comfy handlebar for pushing and some storage space.  After spending hours pouring over online reviews, google searching and taking test spins in store - he decided the Baby Jogger City Mini was the way to go.  I'm really happy with his pick.  It's super lightweight, folds up with one hand quickly and compactly and moves through crowded stores, sand, and grass with ease.  My only complaint is that all the creature comfort accessories (i.e. cup holder, belly bar, toddler tray and infant car seat adaptor) all had to be purchased separately.  If we'd had twins, I'm not sure what he would have picked.  Knowing him, he may have tried to "design" something custom like the moonlighting customer poaching Babies R Us clerk in the movie. 

Monday, July 18, 2011

At a crossroads

I find myself moving past denial and into acceptance of the fact that the world is going paperless.  This has been a traumatic transition for me.  I've been journaling since I was nine years old.  I love the smell of bookshelves filled with a mixture of hard and soft covered volumes.  I have a weakness for pretty thank you cards.
Lately I'm journaling less - even though I have more to reflect on than any other point in my life.  I haven't added a new book to my three full bookshelves in I don't know how long.  Just this week I emailed a  thank you instead of reaching for a notecard and putting pen to paper. 

So, in an effort to embrace this change and use it as an outlet for creativity, I'm going to try my hand at posting musings, photos, questions and insight here. 

I'm not sure that anyone out there will really care about what I have to write about, but does that really matter?  I'm doing this for me. I feel compelled to write.  To reflect. To feed the part of my soul that is nourished by words and pictures.

To document this one precious life I've been entrusted with.