Catching Up

Everyone deserves a lost week here and there, don't you agree? Especially a week where 1) the person whose floor at home is perpetually covered with Barbies, Legos, American Girl doll paraphernalia, and books has a breakdown because the apartment, in the midst of the unpacking, is "too messy" for her; 2) every time you notice your teen eating, she is eating a slice of beer bread (hmmmmmm); 3) you had to spend the first few hours in the temporary apartment clearing out the fridge of month-old food and removing the mold growing in there, cleaning 7 years of food spillage from the cabinets, and finding space for four people's things (three people's, really: the Consort took care of his own stuff) in a small space; and 4) adolescent angst decides this would be a great time to take up residence with the family.

How could I not flip out? And on Friday, I did. (Note to self: A good maternal explosion does wonders for clearing out attitude. Don't look too closely and you won't notice the look of fear and trepidation which replaces the frowny faces. [Fear looks very much like contentment, at a glance.])

We went for an Explore of the creek down the street:

and talked about making biscuits when we got back. Oops. No shortening. So we made peanut butter muffins instead, which we had for lunch:


Then we walked up to Grandma's house, spent time playing with puppies (I did mention Grandma is a dog breeder, right?), then drove in to Hanover (where we'll be living come September) to peek through the windows at the (teeny tiny) house we'll be living in (but the girls were happy to see it, and have already chosen which room they will want; PLUS! they noticed a space we could [possibly] fit a portable dishwasher). We swung by the school they will be attending and happened upon a guidance counselor who gave us a quick tour of the school, and now the girls are very excited about school, too. (That's all it was: stress at the Not Knowing what the house and the school would be like.)

Yesterday we broke in our new hiking boots and climbed Mount Cardigan. It was a gorgeous day (as all days are here: it goes up to about 85 degrees duringh the day, but at night the temp drops down to the 50s -- nice sleeping weather). The girls had lots of fun, and the views at the top were fabulous. You can see a few shots (we're not great at remembering to take pictures all the time) at the flickr photo set, if you like.

Things are settling in. Halleluiah!