No puppy. They didn't pick us. We still have no name for our kitty.

My husband is off for four days. He was allowed to take off Monday without the usual two weeks notice.

Tomorrow is working on the house, and we are headed to Ocean City on Sunday. My mom's cousin invited us down for the day.

Yesterday and today were trying. Not the whole day, but enough of it. I was right about our daughter. She was a pip near lunch/naptime and dinner/bedtime. I am very fortunate that I am not a single parent. I look forward to the times when my daughter is sleeping (and my husband is home.) Naptime is a time when I relax and do something for myself, and after bedtime for our daughter, I look forward to spending time with my husband and not having to chase after and reprimand an almost two year old.

Last night I had a meeting. My husband had a meeting. Mine was rescheduled, his was canceled. It was nice to not have to go anywhere. Especially since my husband has two more nights this week where he will be gone. I don't look forward to having only a short break from the care of my daughter. She is very trying right now. When she gets tired, she is very cranky and not very cooperative. She does what you ask her not to do.

But my husband is very kind and has offered to come home for lunch on the days he will be gone at night and take care of our daughter's lunch and nap, to give me a break. Right now I told him it wouldn't really work, because his bosses have asked if he would work 50 hours a week for a while. The company is behind on work and can't seem to find help. The bosses and another worker are all going to be trying to work extra. He would get his time and a half, plus $50.00 in cash. The extra 10 hours is not mandatory. If he came home for lunch, it would make it even harder to get in an extra 10 hours a day, since he works while he eats.

I was very touched by his offer, though I turned it down. For now. There are days where he is out and about on work errands and has a chance to stop by. That is a nice change for our day.

We are progressing. The bathroom is unpacked, and several more boxes emptied. Blinds are up, and the shower head is changed.

We were suppose to get our chest freezer today, but the clouds have not stopped dumping rain on us all day, or for the past three days. So, the freezer is on hold until the rain has stopped falling. According to the weather reports, that will probably be this weekend.

We ordered a new computer armoire and entertainment center. Our previous ones just won't fit in the new house.

The biggest news of the day is that we adopted a kitty today. She is a gray tiger-stripe and unnamed as of yet. Our two top choices are Zoe and Tabitha, though my husband wants to name her Whiskers, I vote for Zoe. We'll see. I also put in an application for a Labrador mix named Caesar. He is 20 months old, housebroken (very important), and good with children.

My husband has nicknamed me Zookeeper.

We started slow this morning. Slept in. We had my husband's brother's graduation party in the afternoon. They planned on having it outside. The rain changed that. It was crowded inside, but it was a good time. We saw some family we don't see often.

My sister came over and we started to watch Syriana. It was getting late, so we stopped it. My husband and I lost interest in it. It was very hard to follow. It was long. We don't have a desire to finish watching it.

We are all moved in, yet not at all unpacked. Though, I am unpacking a little more each day.

We do like our new little abode. I have changed all but four of the knobs in the kitchen. Four are left because they didn't have enough. Our first plan was to redo the kitchen, but our neighbor is a carpenter, so we are planning on having him, if he wants the job, make us a custom cabinet to go on the wall where none currently exists. We'll buy a new refrigerator and put the current one in the basement. And I discovered I can't stand the dishwasher, so I get a new one of those. I will just live with the dishwasher and sink being 10 feet apart.

My husband bought and put together his first lawn mower, and I think he wants to mow tonight. I did laundry yesterday and got to hang it outside. I need to do something about the clothesline, though. I also need clothes props. My line was rather saggy. I do like my "new" washer and dryer. The previous owner left theirs. They are a bigger capacity than my old ones. So, maybe I can wait on a new set. I wanted a front loader washer.

We are having companies give us estimates to replace the heater, install AC, and replace galvanized pipe with copper. We had the locks changed. We also decided the windows need attention sooner rather than later. That was a project we didn't budget for. But the money we save on the kitchen will go into the windows.

Dinner now needs my attention. Oh, we were going to have grilled chicken salad. I thought that would be good. It's a hot day, cook outside and not heat up the kitchen. Well my plan was perfect until I went to start up the grill and realized my parents still have our propane tank. The movers don't move pressurized gas. So, the kitchen is hotter, and the chicken is cooking on the stove.

We went to the Phillies game today. It was rather warm and sticky. My legs were quite wet from touching those plastic seats. It was kind of gross. We were in the sun for a short time, then the shade came. There was also a breeze, which helped us stay slightly cooler. We also had our hats to shade our eyes from the sun glare off the field.

Our girl was with us and didn't really much care to watch baseball. She much more enjoyed going up and down the steps, playing in my purse, squirming, and making a general all around distraction of herself. We only got to see bits and pieces of the game.

We are still tired from our move.

Today is my husband's father's 60th birthday. He doesn't like a big fuss at all. Of course I told him the day of his birth is a day to be celebrated. He just gave me a look.

We went over for dinner and pie. We had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and strawberry rhubarb pie. It was a scrumptious meal. Gary's step-mom was able to take off of work and be home to cook. Usually her job takes her out of town, and she isn't always home to cook. She was glad to be able to do this meal for him.

We put our daughter to bed at their house and watched "It Could Happen to You." Our girl took an extra long time to fall asleep, because she was in unfamiliar territory.

We hadn't seen the folks in a while and thought we should get over there. We also wanted to see what they had done with the place, because they have their place up for sale. They had painted and done some other things. The house looked very nice. The have an agreement on a house to buy, so hopefully they sell their house soon.

Tonight, after choir, was a farewell time for our church's organist. She is retiring after 23 years of service at our church. She is retiring mainly because she is having hand surgery in July. Since her hands are rather important for playing an organ, she needs to take time off, and I guess decided it was time to take time off permanently. She plays beautifully and has been very faithful in her playing. She will be missed.

I sent out information cards about my being a consultant for Creative Memories. I have to follow up with them next week. I may get a get together out of it. There are incentives to have lots of get togethers and have high sales, but I don't think I am going to make it.

My daughter finally got another tooth, her ninth, on Sunday. She is 22 months old.

I am loving our new camera. It takes very nice photographs, it has a very short delay between photos, and I haven't had to recharge the battery yet. It holds two cards with the capability to store many a photo. I have also taken a few videos with it. I am liking our new camera.

As I write, my husband and daughter are napping. My husband didn't have good night sleep and was not feeling well this morning, so just my daughter and I went to church. He has been sleeping all morning. My daughter fell asleep on the way home. I have a chance to write.

I plan on maybe napping later, watching the Phillies, and doing some Creative Memories stuff.

We should go see my husband's dad, since they have done some work on their house to get it ready to sell. We also just haven't seen them in a while.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!, my dear friend.

On our anniversary weekend, our car's muffler started making some interesting noises. As it turned out when we had it looked at, that the muffler blew a hole. No rust, no apparent reason for a hole, just had a hole.

Today, my car felt left out. On our way to my husband's step-uncle's house, my car decided to have muffler trouble of it's own. The front muffler pipe fell down. We had to have the car towed to our repair shop. We will find out about what's wrong on Monday, after the guys have a chance to look at it. Needless to say, we never made it the uncle's house.

Just as soon as we got home, I went looking at cars on line.

Before all this fun happened, my little family went to Lansdale Day. The town closes main street and people set up their wares. There is food available and many manners of things one might need, from new gutters, to Avon, to jewelry, to pottery. We were foolish and didn't take the stroller, so we had to share caring our daughter and the stuff we purchased. We saw some acquaintances we had not seen in a while. It was a nice morning. We did have to dodge a few raindrops.

We ended the day with a movie. My parents watched our daughter and my husband and sister, and I went and saw "X-Men: The Last Stand." It was good. I might just have to buy it. I still want to see the second one.

I had my next prenatal visit today. I got there right on time and was taken into the exam room promptly. My sample, weight and blood pressure were all checked. I was told the doctor would be in shortly. I waited 15 minutes. I was clothed. I was half considering leaving and rescheduling, when the doctor came in. He wrote some things in my file and listened to my baby's heartbeat. He asked how things were going, wrote a prescription for my 20 week ultrasound, and sent me on my way. I think all that took roughly 7 minutes. I see another doctor on my next visit. We'll see what kind of "bedside manner" he has and how speedy he is to show up once the nurse leaves.

Note: If you remember at my last appointment, I had to wait 30 minutes in a paper gown before the doctor showed up. I am not going to be kept waiting that long again.

I decided to try my hand at Creative Memories. I am now a consultant. I am not sure exactly what all I have to do, but I do know that I have a certain amount of time in which to it. If I fail to follow through with the requirements in that time period, my consultant status is deactivated.

Tonight we have off from choir practice. I like having a break. We will soon have all summer off.

We had a baby shower for my cousin and his wife this weekend. This is their first child. They don't have anything yet. Well, now they do since we had the shower. Though they still need clothes. They have chosen to wait to find out if they are having a boy or a girl.

This weekend was also our anniversary. We got some cards and some "Happy Anniversary!"s. Our anniversary fell on Saturday, which is the day we got married. I thought it kind of neat. It happens every 6 years.

My daughter was being very challenging this morning. I am quite happy she is napping. I am tired of correcting her. She has had at least four time outs in three hours.

I think that because of this orneriness, she was extra tired. This was demonstrated by falling asleep during lunch. But stubborn as she is, she fought it. She fell asleep sitting in her chair, then startle awake and eat another bite. Then she'd fall asleep again, startle awake, and take another bite. I think on the third repetition, I told her we should go upstairs for a nap. She stubbornly said no, picked up a grape, and chewed on it as her eyes closed. Even as I was cleaning her up, she objected to her food being taken away and grabbed another bite.

And unfortunately, I can't let her go on sleeping for however long she would sleep, because I am picking up my aunt at the airport. I am mostly sure that once in the car, she will fall back to sleep.

The wonders of motherhood.

My husband had a very nice weekend, even with the rain of Cooperstown, NY. And as always we have stories to tell.

#1. I surprised my husband by going to a drive-in movie on Friday night to see Poseidon. After a drive of about an hour, we pulled in, paid, and found a place to park to watch the movie. Turning on the radio to tune to the station that carries the sound for the movie, we were reminded that the radio doesn't work. We decided to leave and drove back to the entrance where we paid. We were instructed to go to the concession stand. We drove back over to near where we were and spoke with the owner. She had a speaker that she faces out on of the doors for people like us who don't have their own sound. We thanked her, moved the car for a third time, and went back into the concession stand for our dinner of a hamburger, salt-challenged fries, and not-so-tasty mozzarella sticks. The speaker by the door did provide adequate sound. We had to switch seats, so that I didn't freeze too much with the passenger window open slightly. I also draped an army blanket over me. There was a double feature, but we only stayed for the first movie. We did have an hour's drive back to Cooperstown.

#2. We had a leisurely morning and a bountiful breakfast. As we strolled down Main street toward the National Baseball Hall of Fame, we heard a loud boom. Since it was misty, I thought it was thunder. As we climbed the steps of our destination, streams of people were coming out of the building. I thought it odd that that many people would be leaving at the same time. As we learned later, a squirrel gave its life to get a taste of the building's transformer. The National Baseball Hall of Fame was closed, with an undetermined re-opening. After a picture of everyone milling about, we decided to walk about town for the walking tour. After we enjoyed our tour, we headed back to the Hall of Fame. Still closed. We walked back to the bed and breakfast, for what turned into a two hour nap. Now it was five. The Hall of Fame was closed for the day. Surely it would be open by tomorrow. Other guests at the bed and breakfast did get in again and informed us that they let people in for free once they re-opened. We missed the free deal.

We had another bountiful breakfast on Sunday. We went to church with plans to visit the Hall of Fame afterwards. Just guess who we met at church, besides God. A couple visiting their daughter, who live 45 minutes from us and know our former pastor, and the man who was the former director of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and was now a Director Emeritus. The kind gentleman gave us his card with a personal note to allow us to enter as his guests.

#3. We were on our way home. The turnpike had two unmanned toll booths where you pay 50 cents. No problems with the first one. The second one, however did not like our money. We put in 4 dimes and 2 nickels (US currency), which to my counting equals 50 cents. The machine did not think so. It didn't raise the arm for us to pass. We threw in another nickel. Nothing. My husband pushed the Talk button. A man who must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed accused us of not paying the correct amount and putting in Canadian money. Never once did he think the machine made the mistake. He even sacrificed his own quarter for us. The machine still didn't let us pass. After throwing in the quarter, he went into the building. We guess he finally manually raised the arm for us to pass.

We did have a nice anniversary weekend. Anything to spice up life?

My child has been quite stubborn about saying "Down, please." Though as I listen to what she does say, I wonder if in fact she thinks she is saying, "Down, please." It doesn't sound like it to my ears, but maybe to her, it is. If this is the case, she believes that "please" said with up sounds different then when said with down. I just don't know. The past three evenings, she has sat in her highchair longer than normal, because she isn't using her manners.

I am looking forward to this weekend. My husband and I are going away (a week early) to celebrate our anniversary. We're headed to Cooperstown, NY. While there, we are going to tour the Baseball Hall of Fame and a brewing company. It should be a swell time. My parents are watching our daughter.

Note to self: Do not ever buy a house from someone I know.

I find it very interesting that my daughter has changed so much before our eyes, but yet I couldn't see it.

I just recently sent film to be developed, some rolls from 2003. Looking at my daughter just 7 months ago, there is a difference. I don't notice that her hair is growing, and her face is changing until I look at a younger picture of her.

I feel like I've missed part of my daughter growing up, yet I've been here the whole time.

Today was my shopping day. By the time my daughter and I finished eating, and I got my list organized, it was 11:30. That is usually the time I start working on lunch. But since we had a late breakfast, I decided to head out to do some shopping.

On our way out my daughter thought it would be nice to take her babies with her, a pink doll, and Dora. As she carried them around before we actually left, she kept saying, "Two." She knew she had two babies in her arms.

Her pink baby went on her first shopping experience with us at Wal-Mart. She wanted Dora too, but I said no. We took awhile at Wal-Mart, probably because I perused the $5.50 movie bin. I found some to buy. During our pit stop at McDonald's for nourishment, my daughter was a little perfect eater. She ate two nuggets, and her apples, and all her milk. She did have some problems with pointing and staring at other patrons. She doesn't quite understand that it isn't polite to point and stare, even when it is explained to her.

My girl is a friendly sort. She wiling tells all she meets, "Hi." And now she has started a new thing. She will say hi to someone, then point to me and say, "Mommy," several times. I think maybe every shopper at Redner's was greeted and informed that I was her Mommy. She also was bright enough to recognize the cheese in the deli display window and point to it, then ask for it by opening her mouth and pointing inside. She received some cheese, when reminded to ask more politely.

But all the cuteness came to an end at the conclusion of dinner. After a burnt pot of white chili stunk up the house, we ordered pizza. When our daughter had ended her food intake, she established that she wanted to get down. Without a please. We reminded her she needed to say please. She sat in her highchair asking to get down, without saying please for an hour. She went right to bed with no books or stories.