enough moping already

Noah and Jellybean (our ferret)

My blogger friend Pam posted a comment on my page about how cool it is to be able to document so much of Noah's life via internet. I agree! I thought I would share with you my future idea. Someday soon (hopefully) I will use this site to have my blog printed out into an actual bound book. How cool is THAT!? Talk about a baby book!! Noah will always be able to look back and get a glimpse of what he was like as a child with a lot more clarity than generations before him did. And he won't have to read it on a screen for hours because it will be in a convenient (though probably ginormous) book for him :) I already used Qoop to print out all my Germany pictures from flickr into one book, including all the captions. It turned out great; it was excellent quality at a reasonable price.

I remember looking through my mom's scrapbook from her HS days. Most of the pages were empty thanks to the deterioration of the tape she used. The writing was worn off, things were yellowed and faded, but I was fascinated with what was left. That's why I became a "memory hound". I save magazine clippings and ticket stubs and dried flowers... from special occasions, of course. I saved 2 of every coin from Noah's birth year for him. God knows they've been changing the coins like crazy lately. I've got all these cute art projects Noah did in daycare that I am still waiting to scrapbook. I need to get on that too because pregnancy completely drains my brain and I won't be able to recall a damn thing in a few months. I just want to get his first year done and I'll be happy. I don't know what's in store after that, but I don't think I will be spending so much time and energy on yet another scrapbook. I think one baby book is fine... the first year. His first year book hardly even closes it's so full of cuteness and I'm only up to 8 months.



We've been going out to parks lately to try and occupy some time and force ourselves to have fun... I don't know why I said "our"... so I can occupy time and force myself to have fun. We go to see the ducks, we go take walks at the outdoor mall by the rollercoasters, we go to the playground, we go see the planes. The Joshless woe is finally subsiding and things are getting back to normal, which for us means missing each other constantly and always fighting the depression monkey off our backs. I've cycled through my couple days of crying and watching TV like a lump in bed while I snort Josh's pillow like a cocaine addict. I'm still hating every couple I see... not just the happy ones, but the angry ones too because they don't know how lucky they are. That will eventually go away too. I am now onto renewed sense of responsibility and motivation. I finally did dishes. I finally am cooking again. I finished our painting touch-ups inside and outside the house today. And I gave Noah a much-needed haircut. I tried to force the motivation stage early and was peeling paint off the back of the house with Noah on Easter (the day Josh left), but that lasted about 30 minutes at most. Noah did a really good job, though. I think we're just going to rip the panels off and replace them with hardieboard (fiber cement siding). It will be worth it for sure.

We've had a few stressful situations over the past week, but I finally feel they have been resolved. We're quickly approaching the deadline for the end of our looooong wait. April 20th is when Josh is supposed to find out if he was approved for his new job and when his class will be. This means we'll know if we have to move, when we have to move, where we have to move, when he'll likely be deployed, where our next duty station will be... you know, EVERYTHING! So keep us in your happy thoughts up until then and cross whatever body parts you can. I don't know what I want more: to stay here and finally have continuity, or to move and start fresh as a finally together family. My responsible side of course wants the continuity, especially with a new baby on the way. But, my adventurous side wants a change. I think we'll compromise and stay in Texas, but revamp the house again :)

Note to self: blog tomorrow about "Awful Parent" day and poor Amy, Rachel, and their babies. OK I said I was going to bed an hour ago so for real I am going now. Goodnight everyone.