Some Mornings are More Exciting

First, the good news: Our neighbor is fine. We're fine. Our house is fine.

The bad: our neighbor's house caught fire this morning and she managed to call 911 before escaping with her life. More bad: she started it by smoking. Now, we were worried that she was going to blow up her house when we saw the oxygen tanks delivered last week (to help with her emphysema and enlarged heart) because she's a smoker. But apparently she just set the couch on fire with a cigarette and it spread from there.

To combat the fire, there were 4 large firetrucks, 3 ambulances, lots of fire chiefs, and an entire firefighter rookie class of 20 guys or so, on our quiet little street. Very active for a while, but they've all left except for a small truck with two guys who seem to be watching the house for outbreaks.

I'm attaching a couple pics of the fire crew and one of the back of our neighbor's house showing what look like drapes hanging down, but is actually the melted vinyl siding from her soffit. The smoke was billowing out the ridge vents along the roof, the fire went up into the attic and the house appears to be totaled on the inside.

Muffin thought it was quite interesting to see all the firefighters she's read about in books and she saw both the new ECU Pirate theme fire truck plus normal red trucks. It is now 9:30 AM and I think we'll call it a day...

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Beachy!

We took the Muffin to the beach and the aquarium on Saturday. I love taking her to places and just sitting back and watching her reaction to the things going on around her. She seems like such a kid now and no longer a baby that sometimes I get kind of sad.

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Another Year Older and Wiser, or Just Older?

Well, Geek 2 here again. I just had another birthday. I'd like to think I'm another year wiser than at this point last year. But maybe I'm just more experienced. As I told Geek #1 yesterday, with age comes experience.

Now, I've got the experience to know that if I hand Muffin a peanut butter sandwich, I must also remove Mr. Bun Bun from the vicinity or we get a sticky bunny. I did not know this quite so well last year.

Of course, back then she wasn't eating much peanut butter and certainly not like now when she prefers to scrape the stuff off the bread or crackers or whatever. Apparently those items are merely peanut butter delivery devices, and she's just as happy with a spoonful of the stuff.

See...now I'm experienced. But is that true wisdom? Not likely. All it really does is make me long for the days when I could lose myself in the magic and dizziness of a park swing, like Muffin.

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The Agony and the Wet-stacy

What a week...we'll skip all the gruesome details and just get to where the Muffin meets the road, I mean hose. Geek #1 and I introduced her to the joys of splashing in a sprinkler today since our fair city had cooled to a mild 93 and we didn't feel like setting up the baby pool.

She, of course, loved it. Loved seeing it, feeling it, drinking from it, getting to soak her hair, clothes, and diaper, loved dancing in it. We had as much of a blast watching her. Lovely.

And then there was the other water adventure. The one where Geek #1 decided to find out why she was being so mysteriously quiet this evening as he was checking work email and I was cleaning cat barf out of the rug. And where was the darling? In the master bathroom - already a bad sign.

But when I followed my partner's hysterical laughter I understood both the quiet and the hysteria. Muffin, dear, dear Muffin, was soaked head to toe - again - from dipping her head in the toilet. Then she must have decided to help clean and stuffed an entire bathrug into the toilet bowl. Luckily (I guess) only one would fit.

And in all this mess, where was the toilet lock - the one designed to keep her out of the bowl? In her hands while she chewed on it. But don't take my word for it, we've got photographic evidence.




Again, there are some things they just really don't mention in all the baby books.

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OMGWTFLOL autistic!

Just a quick note. I took Fiona to the new universal access playground yesterday and there were a gaggle of autistic kids there. One was wearing a Knights who say Ni Monty Python and the Holy Grail shirt.

Funny? Oh heck yes.
Did you laugh? Not until I got home.
Going to hell? Absolutely.

For those of you who don't understand the joke... look at this.

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Busy business

Most of our pictures for April look like these - either Fiona is completely absorbed by an activity (for 5 minutes) like with her new Thomas train or she's moving - fast! We've visited so many parks in an attempt to wear her out and provide interaction with other kids that she is bored if we're not at a park. Silly us.

Of course, once at a park, she'll spend 20 minutes or so on the swings while assessing the situation, watching the other kids, and figuring out her next plan of attack. She's both brave (or maybe fearless) about climbing anything and cautious about new people and new places (sort of).

Of course, the big question right now is...what is she getting into and where in the house is she??? Geek #2 better go find out...

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Time Marched On...

...without a new blog entry for a month, apparently. We'll just leave it as - hey, we're busy parents in this crazy world. If a lag of a month bothers you, tough.

No, can't do that, must elaborate. We went to Minnesota for spring break, returned to hectic work schedules, hosted one set of grandparents, and are preparing for more work hecticity with job hires and finals (sure, its a word, it appears on the Internet!) and another grandparent visit this weekend.

Of course, we're preparing by trying to recover from a cold/flu combo, a cold and poison ivy combo, and a new tooth, respectively. Yikes, and we're the ones who are okay.

Basically, we're learning we are so grateful for not being single parents having to deal with the scheduling and illnesses alone. Of course, we become much more pathetic, whiny folks when combined, but oh well, it is family bliss.

Well, blissful except for the potty training parts where Muffin uses a diaper, takes it off, and smears material around or takes the diaper off first and then pees. Sigh...thank goodness our carpets were already highly damaged!

Anyway, just a note to say hi to our fans, all two of you. Cheers!

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