Home Improvement Update

This installment features new exterior paint, exterior and interior light fixtures, Mr. Slim HVAC unit, and glass blocks.

Music: "That Was Then" by Stretford

This way, mama

Taxes and imaginary things

I hope everyone had a swell weekend! Here are a few random odds and ends from over here deep in the heart of Texas.

I'm continually amazed at how my son's mind works. He has started doing this imaginary play thing where he pretends to scoop up something in his hand and then hands it to you. I'm not sure what age this type of play is typical (he's 15 months old now), but it is an amazing thing to see. He will also pretend to give his little teddy bear/blanket lovey to his big stuffed teddy bear.

He has also been quite particular about his clothing lately. He does not like it when his sleeves are tight around his arms. Sometimes even sleeves with a button on the cuff will cause him to protest. Then, this morning, he would not let me put on his left sock and shoe. Since I had an appointment to get to, I said, okay, let's hit the road. And then in the car, he started complaining that his left foot was bare, by pointing to it and pouting. Pretty adorable.

I finally finished filing my taxes this evening! I didn't really mean to wait until the last minute (technically, April 14th is not the last minute), but it somehow turned out that way. I had been fighting TurboTax for about a week with this rounding error. It was only a .09 difference, but I guess it's in my personality to want it to be correct. Well, I gave up, and filed it with the small error. TurboTax said my audit risk was low anyways. Let's hope so.

We got our house painted last week. It really is nice. I picked out the colors myself and it looks fabulous. (Of course, I'm not biased.) I will try to get some video or pictures up soon. (I've been busy with this rounding error.)

And lastly, the little man does not like ranch dressing.

Egg hunt and Spring party!

The egg hunt and Spring party took place yesterday (4/9/2009) at daycare. He had just found an egg, and immediately opened it and started eating the cookies. Then he was not too interested in the egg hunt after that. Cookies trump plastic eggs when you are 15 months old.

Hope you have a great weekend, and if you celebrate, Happy Easter!

Home improvement update: drywall, paint

Drywall installation, texture, and paint! And Bernie the Electrician's cute little happy dance!

Sorry this is about a week old. I had the video ready, but we finally did the voiceover for it tonight.

Music: "Last Time Around" by Stretford. (Yes, that is me playing saxophone.)

And I'm not sure why iMovie does that little "tink" in the beginning. I think it's a bug from the voiceover countdown cue (3-2-1-go).

First year molars

It's been a lovely weekend here. I have successfully managed to procrastinate on my taxes. I'm almost done, though, just one little part I am not sure about. Anyways, we have had a typical weekend here of chores, shopping, and playtime. As you can see in the previous posting, the little man has a ton of drool, which means, yes, he is teething. This past week, all of his first year molars have just broken through, but still have a long ways to go. The tough thing about molars is that there is more surface area, which means more crankiness, and sometimes it is tough to get him to go down for a nap or nighttime. But my plan to wear him out today helped this evening. We went to the Austin Children's Museum this afternoon. He always has a blast there. This was the first time since his ear tubes were put in, and the first time he was walking with confidence. He even trotted a bit. He had a great time in their little toddler area.

This morning we went to our usual HEB store for our weekly grocery trip. We don't go to the closest HEB, but the next closest one, which happens to cater to the large Jewish community in that area. They have a kosher deli there, and it also tends to be a community social gathering place. It can be tricky to maneuver the cart if you don't get there early enough. Anyways, they have had their Passover displays up for a short time, but we just noticed the following item which I thought was interesting.



Hope you all had a splendid weekend and you are all well. Cheers.

Bugs and Pi

Thanks Ma for the new t-shirts!