tidbits

Funny tidbits:
1. J spends almost exactly one hour mowing the front and back lawn at our no-longer-new house. Last time I think the monotony got to him because he came in explaining how we had a small apple tree. I said you mean a tiny tree that makes apples or a tree that drops tiny apples. Turns out he hasn't been that exposed to crab apples so he actually bit into one to see if he could eat the little rotty buggers. Turns out crab apples taste sour and luckily (thanks to a post-eating-random-mini-apple search on wikipedia) they are not poisonous.
2. We have not had to turn our heat on and it is distinctly set to off. However, occasionally there is some sort of blower thing that comes on in the basement. Both J and I have no idea what it is that makes that noise and how they let us own our own house.
3. As we were getting ready for work the other day, I was ironing (no the wrinkle releaser was not gone, but this was a stubborn fold type deal - and I already feel like a tank and I shouldn't draw any more attention to myself by being a tank dressed in a wrinkly shirt). We have this niffty beeper connected to an alarm system that is installed in this house (that we don't plan to activate) that goes off every time a door or window is opened. J and I were both fussing around in the bedroom and the beeper went off. I feel panic that a burglar had just come through the door, while J asks if I just heard the beepbeepbeep. We investigated and luckily I had my newish wireless iron to carry with me for protection. That way I can make the robber really mad at me when I burn him.

arts fest

It's the perfect preview to fall today. Sweatshirt weather with sunshine. We cruised on up to the Pawtucket Arts Fest to get out in the nice weather. We walked past the biggest playground extravaganza and admitted that we wished we had a kid so we could play around in there a bit...soon. We went over to what looked like a petting zoo except for all the signs saying don't touch the animals. J got his bunny fix in the smelly little barn which also housed the fatest hog I've ever seen. It will be fun to visit this park with Aiden-bo-baden. We decided to get a jump start on our holiday shopping since we might be pretty busy or at least preoccupied with baby leading up to xmas. We found some surprises. I was not surprised that the hot dogs smelled really good since I'm not supposed to eat them while brewing the baby. J had a kielbasa with peppers that was smelly enough to turn me away from the hot sausy/sausage/kielbasa craving. It was impossible to resist the humdinger chocolate peanut butter frappe. It was the perfect sweet cap to a relaxing Sunday afternoon.

taiwan celebration and boat races

In what I hope is the last heat wave this summer, we ventured out to Pawtucket for the Taiwan celebration and boat races. My friend came down from Boston and we had a fall inspired barbecue with ham steaks (from mixing table although they looked like they were straight from Dr. Suess). We then headed out to Pawtucket (which is not the jewel of RI). Once we were able to find a place to park and we were shuttled over in the sauna bus, I didn't think we'd last long (or maybe I thought I wouldn't last long with my big baby). We slurped up some Del's lemonade while watching a good heat of boat races which wasn't what I expected at all. The boats were loaded with people and there was a drummer on board to synchronize them. Then we were drawn in to watch the umbrella dances, tai kwon do, yoyo group demos. We survived the heat for a while, and then cruised straight up the road to the outlets to get some ice cream and some deals (the little me shop had huge sales I literally dreamt about last night). I'm glad to still be kicking around for that long on the weekends without feeling it too much.

daniel's first

I've been a delinquent blogger in keeping up with our actual life... Baby is all consuming in my thoughts and I blame hormones. But we have had some family fun lately. We headed up north of Boston to spend some time with the Brennan side and to celebrate Daniel's first birthday (J's cousin's little boy and Aiden's future buddy). Here are some photos:

PTP kickoff dinner

Seems like so much has changed in a year. Can't stop thinking that lately since the school year is starting up. Academia is such a cycle and it seems like we're going through some of the same motions we did last year, but somehow the context of our lives has shifted dramatically. We were approaching the annual welcome dinner for J's project and as we walked up I could remember last year driving into a foreign neighborhood with breathtaking views of the bay... thinking how cool is that water - oh look, no cactus, but there is a really pretty bird out there. We were still adjusting and poking our way around our tiny apartment. Now we have adjusted to a whole new home which really feels like home. We were familiar with most of the people and we could welcome the new ones here. The few little bug bites aside, eating outside in the director's back yard up against the bay is a nice weekday treat.

updated house photos

The baby accessories are spreading out into our house. It used to be that I had to go into the nursery for a smile, but now I can just walk into the living room to fuss with the new swing with a goofy smile on my face. I've also left out the most adorable little pair of baby shoes that cheer me up every morning. We also have some paint on the walls which really brightens up the place. Here are some updated shots of the house:
Living Room with green:

Wall in kitchen with new light fixture and creamy chocolate paint:
Wall in dining room with same creamy chocolate: