Catching Up...as if!

I'll tell you right now, there aren't any cute pictures of Owen that will be following this posting. We simply haven't had the time in the last two weeks...so, if that is all you are here to find, you can move on now. (But do check back soon...Owen would hate to lose his fan base!)

Starting backwards from right now: We are waiting for plumbers to come and install a new hot water heater. Our landlady has been MIA up until a few days ago...not that she announced her return to us, or returned our phone calls about the leaking bathroom ceiling and the 20 tiles that have fallen off our bathroom wall as a result of a different leak on the roof...do date, we have about 4 phone numbers and 3 email addresses to contact her. You would think we could have constant contact with all of that information. Sadly, none of them seems to be capable of overcoming her own call/email screening process, rendering them all equally useless.

I left a note on her door last night that the basement was flooding from an overflowing water heater (?) and the hot water was gone. Chris turned off the water flowing into the heater to stop the flooding...and that worked. This morning, she called us "on her way to the Bahamas" (that's where her boss does his best work, apparently, so his whole entourage travels with him there for weeks at a time.) She gave Chris a credit card number and permission to replace the heater. Which is great, except that, as Chris puts it, "I am so sick of the responsibilities of home ownership, with none of the perks of actually owning a home." He spent the greater part of the day on the phone, going to Lowes to sign a contract, and now overseeing the installation.

That's today. So far.

In the last week and a half since our return from Cincinnati, we have hosted wonderful company (last weekend). My friend, Jeremy, and his friend, Michael, came for a few days visit. We had a great time catching-up, and Owen was simply crazy about both of them. I had never met Michael before...but as soon as I learned that he had two cats and a pug named, Muggle, I instantly liked him!

Chris has done 4 days at ESPN over the last week...last Friday, Saturday, Tuesday and Yesterday...each driving up and back on the same day. These days are hard for all of us, mostly because they are long work days with a lot of driving on top for him, for Owen because Owen doesn't see him at all. For me, because I pulled a muscle in my back lifting Owen in his stroller up some stairs. Twice. The first time, I just had the injury and didn't know what had caused it earlier in the week, and then yesterday, while lifting the stroller...I swear I heard the "ping" just as I felt the painful jolt in my lower back. With my being the only one at home, there has been no avoidance of lifting, twisting, reaching and pulling to keep up with "Spudly Do-Right" Boone!

Owen has had his own set of spills and knocks this week. The more adventuresome he gets with testing his balance and walking abilities, the more he has slipped, tripped and thunked into what little furniture we have in our dining room. He even pulled over one of the dining room chairs while I was in the kitchen collecting his food for lunch the other day. Fortunately, it is a light-weight chair that fell forward and completely away from where he was sitting on the floor. This time!

We are all just barely keeping our wits about us. There has been NO SNOW, and that is truly a gift as far as I am concerned. I am glad my skiing friends in Boston are having lots of snow this year for their sake, but I don't regret having cold wet rain in New Jersey for our sakes!

I will definitely get some pictures up again soon.

Probably.


Soon-ish.



Right after I get a long, hot bath!

love,
one greasy grimy Mama



p.s. I lied, here's a cute movie...