Day 122--Having Fun, Rain or Shine

Today really was a great day.  We all got to sleep in, though I was the first up at 8:30.  I did a little bit of school work, and then got ready for the day.  We met up for breakfast downstairs about 9:30, and it was really yummy.  We then meandered through the French Quarter, poking around in shops until we hit Canal Street, where we picked up the cable car, intending to go to the Garden District.  Unfortunately, we ended up way past the district without realizing it, which meant that it took us a while to get back and lead to a very late lunch.  But, the food was great, and then the went shopping on Magazine Street while the boys stopped off for Happy Hour.  They met up with us later for more shopping, and then we hopped the trolley back over to the French District and headed to the waterfront for a stroll before another very good meal.  By 8:30, we were back at our hotel and totally wiped.  I would estimate that we walked a good seven miles today, which is hard work at seven months pregnant.  We watched a movie on our computers and said good night to Marshall and his wife.  I am now done with classes and headed to join my sleeping husband.

It was honestly a really fun day that had little itinerary and lots of charm.  I think that Barney is very glad to be enjoying this time with Marshall before Marshall moves across the country in a few short months.  He takes them to the airport very early in the morning, and then he and I will spend another day and a half or so here just the two of us.  Today was not really about he and I as much as it was just a fun day as a group.  It will also be fun tomorrow to be just the two of us.  I have no set plans other than to see what fun adventures we can find.  I guess I better go get some sleep so that I will be ready when the sun comes up :)

Day 121--Blessed

If I am totally honest about this trip, I would have to admit that I really didn't put much thought or energy into the trip as it began to loom upon us other than to see it as a deadline for getting stuff around the house completed.  I wasn't excited or unexcited--it just was.  Then, we left for the trip, and I began to feel apprehensive because I hadn't planned enough, or at least recently enough, to have a clear idea of what we would do or what the trip would be like.

But, then we got here, and what I have felt most today is blessed.  I have felt the blessing of my children in being away from them for the first time in two weeks.  The day-to-day irritations very quickly fade, and what I already miss so much are the wonderfully sweet and good-natured babies that I am so blessed with.  I have felt the blessing of my new house--the B&B we are at is very lovely, but I don't find it as lovely as my home, and that is surely a blessing.  I have felt the blessings of my families--the ones caring for my children and the ones willing to take time from their busy schedules to check on things at my new home.  I have felt the blessings of having in-laws who are also friends, as having Marshall and his wife here has been a wonderful addition to the trip, not just because Barney loves spending time with his brother but because I do too.  I have felt the blessing of time--time to rest, time to read, time to drink hot chocolate, eat beignets, and enjoy some amazing food.

Mostly though, I have felt the blessing of having married my soul mate.  Seeing him experience New Orleans has been better than experiencing it myself.  At one point tonight, I heard a woman on a cell phone talking to a loved one back home and telling that person how much she loved and missed him.  My immediate impulse was that I needed to connect with my person too, so I reached out and took his hand, and it was one of those clarifying moments where I realized that sometimes even when we know how lucky we are, we fail to see our blessings because we have allowed them to become trivialized, mundane, or everyday.  Being in a strange city has only reinforced to me what I should already know, which is that home for me is not a house (no matter how much I love it) but a blessing that was given to me in the form of an amazing husband and our equally amazing children.

New Orleans is strange, wonderful, and indescribably different from my world, and I am in no danger of being one of the people who come and never leave though I am so glad to be here and experiencing what it has to offer.  But, I will leave here with a greater awareness of the fullness of what I go home to and the importance of both recognizing and protecting that blessing.

Days 119 & 120--A Job Well Done . . . Ish

Well, tomorrow marks two weeks in our new home. I can officially say that all of our boxes that are not staying in boxes are unpacked except for the books that are awaiting the arrival of bookshelves.

The house is far from being where I want it to be before Jefferson makes his grand appearance though. Luckily I still have about seven weeks left.

Barney continues to love the house, and he has many projects to keep him busy. But, that is all going to have to wait because we are officially on our way to New Orleans, via a stop at the in-laws tonight.

This week is going to be all about some quality grown up time with just my sweetie and I. (And Marshall and his wife too!). My goal this week is simply to make sure that he has the best time possible and gets to enjoy some real down time.

Days 117 & 118--Vacation from My Problems?

We leave in less than two days for our big trip to New Orleans, and in some ways it could not have come at a better time.  Neither Barney nor I have really taken anything resembling a break for weeks now.  We haven't even watched a 20 minute show, read any books, gone on any walks, etc.

Our time is divided between four things: working, caring for the children, house-related items like unpacking, shopping, etc, and dealing with food.  We are down to one room and one major project--the kitchen and my books (which we cannot do until my new bookshelves arrive, hopefully next week).  Then, we will have lots of little projects, but the boxes will essentially be gone.

It is my goal to get the kitchen unpacked and put away before we leave on our trip, which means I have a lot of work to do.  Barney has been working as much as he can on his own projects (mostly outside and the office), but he has been really great about pitching in where he can, like breaking down boxes and putting up the shelving pins.

I am still working to maintain a strong awareness of Barney's needs and to offer little ways to show him I love him, such as organizing his closet for him once it was apparent that it was something he was avoiding rather than looking forward to (I guess I am weird that I like organizing my closet???) even though what I really wanted to be doing was working in the kitchen.  But, really, the house has come before either of us for the last many days, and I am looking forward to this trip and the opportunity to spend time just enjoying one another without any distractions outside of our ongoing work schedules.

Days 115 & 116--The Story of a Tree

We have one lonely tree on our entire two acres of land.  Well, technically there is a half tree decorative thing out front, but there is only one real tree.  It is in the far, far back corner of the land, beyond the swamp pit and nestled amidst some grass that seems fairly normal from the house but turns out to be taller than Olivia.

Since moving to our new house, I have discovered a surprising fact--for Barney, our yard was the number one reason for our move out of the big city and into the small town.  I honestly thought that we came here for the schools and that anything else was just a bonus, but apparently that was not the case for him.  So, since we have gotten here, the yard has been a big deal to him.  He has actively wanted to mow and jumped at the opportunity when my dad offered to come mow the other day with Barney's assistance.  He loves to go to hardware stores and look at trees, grass seed, grass seed dispersing gear, lawn mowers, and etc.  This has all been somewhat of a surprise to me because in our old house he had zero interest in lawn maintenance and would actively complain when I insisted on anything other than the bare minimum of weeding.

So, back to the tree.  Our one lonely tree had obviously either been long neglected by human care or never had been trimmed by a human, so it resembled nothing as much as a really overgrown and scraggly bush.  Barney has been itching for days to go out and trim the tree, but first he could not find our tree trimmers, and then it turned out the grass was too tall and he was too short to reach the branches, and then I needed him on projects inside.  I can unpack all day, but much of the hanging and arranging of things require assistance because of my pregnant state of being.

This morning though he patiently hung two curtains, a towel rod, two towel hooks, and a picture for me before slipping out of the house with my mother's ladder and his newly purchased tree trimmer and then spent a good two hours working on the tree.  After a neighbor warned of possible snakes in that high grass, the kids stayed inside with me while we periodically watched the progress outside.  He was meticulous and dedicated, and after two hours, it no longer looks like an eyesore but is a pretty tree instead.  He was so proud of his work (and rightly so), and I was so glad that he did that instead of the variety of house projects that I had had in mind for this morning.  The satisfaction that he takes in a good looking yard is hard to beat, and it really did do a lot to make the back yard look at least a little better (it's going to be a while before we really see anything like its true potential though).

Trimming the tree meant that we had a much, much later start to our trip to see my sister-in-law who had knee surgery today, which also meant that I did not get to eat at my favorite restaurant and had to eat at a very poor substitute instead.  I knew that our late departure time definitely meant that my chances of getting to eat at my favorite place were going to be drastically reduced.  And, I was quite disappointed, but as we got home tonight and seeing again the happiness that making that tree look good brought to Barney made the sacrifice seem in hindsight like a no-brainer. 

Day 114--The Office

Well, we have pretty much done a room a day.  We started with the bedrooms and bathrooms and have now virtually finished the playroom, made serious progress on the guestroom, and tonight are doing the office.  The office is the one room of the house that is really more Barney's than anyone else's, even though he won't likely spend that much time in there anyway.  But, he is very much enjoying the arranging and setting up of things in there, while I am hugely exhausted.  It would be a bad, bad idea to stay up until 1:00am again for the 8th or 9th night in a row.  So, I am pretty well headed to bed in the next hour or so, and I will leave him to "his" room for tonight.  There is soooo, sooooo much to do still, but not tonight and not until I am better rested.

Barney has been such a stabilizing force for me in these last few days, and I am not sure that I have emphasized that enough to him or on here for that matter.  He has been really willing to let me take on projects and lead the way while he does much of the heavy lifting.  There were times towards the end of our days in the old house when it felt like our marriage might just be falling apart (not because it actually was but because of the stress that we were both under).  It feels like a whole new marriage, even though in many ways our stress is just as high as it was in those last days--though for different, more positive, reasons.

Days 112 & 113--Just Plodding Along

I feel like it looks like we haven't made much progress, though we have not stopped working yet.  Barney continues to just be so happy here, despite any frustrations that may crop up with our builder, the move, other financials, etc.

I have to admit that the lack of sleep and lack of perceived progress has combined to make me somewhat cranky today.  I did my best to hold back, but there were times this morning especially when I was just on edge, and Barney got a sharp word that was probably undeserved on at least two occasions.  I did my best to stifle (though obviously not good enough since I am writing about it now), and I have to admit that he handled it with total grace.  I know that I need to get a better night's sleep tonight if I am going to stay healthy and sane.

But . . . that guestroom sure does want to be put together.  I can tell.  It's calling to me.  I had some friends mention they may come by this week, and I would hate to not have things ready.  So, bed or work?  Bed or work?   . . . . . .