Gymboree Fun

Grandma's in town and went to Gymboree with us today. Fun!

Our boy is SO chic....

.....that he visited his first plastic surgeon today. :O) He was born with a preauricular tag by his left ear which was charming enough for us but that we knew might cause him some future grief from peers or otherwise. Our pediatrician referred us to a plastic surgeon and they spent literally five minutes removing it today. All ended up well. Actually, we were thankful it existed because it was one of the first things we noticed the night he was born and it assured us there was no crazy hospital baby mix-up when it was time to come home.

Here is a pretty good shot of the tag, taken when he was 5 days old (BTW, HOLY GIANT PACIFIER, BATMAN!)

And here he is today, happy enough with the procedure to practice his clapping.

Pool Fun

Nothing particularly thoughtful tonight... just gratuitous use of cuteness as Andrew explored his new baby pool yesterday.

Things I'll Miss About South Texas, Part II

Clarivel and Nelly

These two girls were my voices of reason at Salinas Elementary and ended up being great friends. They threw a baby shower for me at our school and attended another one at the high school. They visited me in the hospital the day after I had Andrew. They are nice as nice can be, and I will miss them!

Clarivel is fitting me with TP at my school shower last May: two weeks before Andrew arrived.Nelly's getting MARRIED in July! Here are a couple of pics from tonight's shower.

Dinner Dialogue

*Here's a glimpse of tonight's marital banter - a very sweet husband and a casserole gone bad.....

MK noticed Jon sniffing the kitchen air upon his arrival home. "What do you smell?"
"Maybe a little bit of burning."
MK rushed to the oven and flung it open. All was well. "There's nothing burning."
"OK, then. It smells really good."

*MK tries to be a good cook, but hey, she's no Rachael Ray.

Our House is Famous!

No, no... it didn't sell, BUT it's in a movie, and it's actually pretty cool. Now, a judgemental person might question the musical selection or closing shot of the not-so-attractive-looking gated off part of the yard (digging dogs, need I say more?)....but who's judgemental around here?
Oh, and if you like the framed cat print, I happen to know and love a certain blogger who can get you one ASAP!

Greater Expectations

Two months ago, we cleaned and staged the house to its most pristine state so a guy (hired by our realtor) could do a virtual tour video of it. He came, all went well, and we were told it would be up in two days. Two MONTHS later, no video, so I asked the realtor about it. She called him and set up another appointment for this morning (his equipment allegedly broke last time). Andrew and I spent all morning cleaning and staging again, and the guy never showed. AAARRRGGGH. I called said realtor and she made her usual list of excuses about how they need to hire another guy and he just told her his equipment was indeed working again and he could upload the ORIGINAL video. Kill. Do these people care about the trouble folks have to go through to get their houses into showing condition? Aren't we all professionals here, or am I crazy to be frustrated?

I ask you, are my expectations for fellow humans' punctuality and professionalism too high?

The GOOD NEWS is our house is clean now for at least two more hours until Andrew and the hounds have had their way with it. Also, I made myself feel better this morning by doing my own fastest-possible virtual tour of the house I had just staged. (I know it seems a little crazy, but hey - gave me something to do.) Follow this link for Our House in 45 Seconds and please feel free to comment with your thoughts:

http://s142.photobucket.com/albums/r119/mburbank/?action=view&current=OurHousein45Seconds.flv

Things I'll Miss About South Texas, Part I

I tend to be one of those "grass is always greener" folks. Not a pretty trait, I know. I have destination addiction, according to one of Oprah's former guests - always believing you'll be TRULY happy WHEN this or that thing happens. In my case, it's been a case of geography. I couldn't wait to get out of the small town where I grew up, then I was dying to leave WV altogether after teaching there for a few years. Of course, South TX didn't suit me that well, either. In all cases, however, I have been struck with a major nostalgia bug when it has been almost time to depart, and South TX has been no different. Lately, in true Mary Kathryn fashion, I've been thinking a lot about people and places I [we] will truly miss when we relocate. I plan to highlight each one here, in no particular order. Here is my first installment in the Things I'll Miss About South Texas series. Enjoy, and please do chime in with thoughts if you, too, have any destination addiction issues.

The Trail on 2nd Street in McAllen:
A beautifully-landscaped, lush, miles-long, wide, curvy trail that is - BONUS - pet-friendly (note the puppy water fountain). Our family has spent a lot of time here with aspirations of getting in shape.

Heard the Duck Toy song?

This song was MADE for Dora. She adores squeaky tennis balls. Here is her initial take on the masterpiece (she plans to download it to her Ipod ASAP).

Momentary Lapse of Reason

As it turns out, the "on paper" deal for staying in Texas ended up being a little different than what we were first told. Mercury was in line with Venus today or something, because the fates were definitely trying their damndest to get us up to SC. There was the news of the TX job specifics, it was 104 degrees outside (note to Mother Nature: it's APRIL, not AUGUST), and Jon got a nice letter from the SC principal in today's mail. So, (drumroll, please...................)


South Carolina is a DONE DEAL. All we have to do now is sell this house, find a new place to live in SC, search the daycare scene, move two dogs and a 1-year-old across the country, and find MK a job (part-time, hopefully). No problem, right?

Diez Meses de Viejo

Andrew was 10 months old WILD yesterday. He's plugging along quite nicely, with an occasional speed bump in the "going to sleep in his room" department. We read that his reluctance is probably due to new separation anxiety, teething, or night terrors. Anyway, you bloggers have seen most of his interesting photos lately, so I have nothing new to contribute to Shutterfly for a couple of days. I do, however, give you:

Clothesbasket Sailing (he climbs in there all the time and we drag him around)


Adventures in Utensil Use (the kid eats in just a diaper now - the only way to go once they practice feeding themselves)




BTW - No definite word yet on the big job decision. By the end of the week, for sure.

Pros and Cons

We have talked about moving options at length for the past two days. (If we DO stick around, it will only be for 2 or 3 more years. We have been here 3 already.) Our latest exercise has been a list and scoring of the pros and cons for living in TX or SC, and so far we really don't seem to be leaning one way or the other. Do us the favor of objectively responding to our poll after considering the list of pros for living in:

Texas

• MK gets to stay home with Andrew full-time


• Physically, it's easier (no housing market woes, the job and geographical situation are now familiar, no multi-$$$ move across the country)


• Financial security - being able to save a few pennies


• South Padre Island, trips into Mexico
  

South Carolina

• Living within a culture that is more familiar to us


• One day's drive away from friends/family (as opposed to a day full of flights)


• More temperate climate


• Honoring verbal agreements with new employer (and thus not burning bridges)

Major Decision Ahead

OKAY.... so we were all set in our plans to move North, and then Jon's boss offers him a MAJOR raise to stay put. Very flattering, if you ask me. Hidalgo knows what it has. It would mean me being able to stay comfortably home with Andrew for another year or two and is quite tempting. We are hashing it over this weekend and will have something figured out by Tuesday, I'd say. I guess the great thing [we take for granted] about being Americans is that we HAVE such choices before us.

Hijinx and House Showings

One good thing about house showings is that we take otherwise unnecessary trips to the park:

And, here is our [cute boy?] messing around in his play yard: Play Yard Hijinx