It feels like we've moved all over again. John and his dad spent Saturday afternoon retrieving our remaining items from the storage facility, so we're back to boxes and unpacking. Some of this has been packed and stored since we first listed our house LAST July. So clearly, it's non-essential stuff...possibly even not worth keeping. But who knows? We've got the space now we just need to put it all away. In this batch of stuff was a table and chairs for our screen porch--a welcome addition. Edward thinks it's great to eat outside, and we must admit we also have been looking forward to that since we first saw this house!

(A note about this photo: Edward put his own shoes on and asked John if he had them on the correct feet. John checked and affirmed. After this, Edward somehow switched them, but they didn't notice until I got home about an hour later and pointed it out. There's something goofy about shoes on the wrong feet--it always cracks me up.)

After moving all afternoon Saturday, overachiever John decided to tackle some of the jungle that is our yard today. He got some info from neighbors who said that apparently two owners ago there was someone here who fancied himself quite the gardener. But he moved out in a bitter divorce and nothing was kept up. Then the next owner (the one we bought from) also neglected it, with his primary contribution being a large plastic tarp over an overgrown (e.g. eight-foot weeds) garden plot at the back property line.

The worst part is, this garden guy must have also been a "natural security" freak because almost everything is prickly, including the tree in the front yard that has something resembling two inch toothpicks all over it. Holly says this is a red haw tree, which will be pretty in spring. We are thinking it may not be long for our yard...we'll see if we can get the lower branches off without inflicting any serious wounds. There was another plant (unidentified by anyone in our posse) that had tiny, sticky burrs on it. Edward and John discovered it accidentally and separately during the week. I noticed some burrs on Ed's t-shirt and had a heck of a time picking them off one by one (brushing them did nothing.) Then John found a shirt that had gone through the laundry that still had some on it. So when John got covered in it while executing the removal this afternoon, we knew the best option was to toss the shirt in the garbage. (It was a freebie from one of our March of Dimes walks.) The gloves also went out. I think he was going to try to salvage the jeans.

We think the roof issue is finally going to be resolved early this week, which means the contractor can return to close the hole in our living room ceiling (was supposed to be about three days and has been more than three weeks.) Apparently the flashing around the chimney was incorrectly installed, but done in such a way that it appeared to be correct. It took a roofing specialist to dig deep enough to find the problem and create the solution, which he is expected to employ tomorrow. Fingers crossed...

While we're crossing, here's hoping Daniel's digestive bug has left the building, or the body as the case may be. He had quite a week and ended up back on a basic breastmilk diet. The medical advice was "feed him more often to avoid dehydration." Easier said by a nurse than done by a mom staring down two of the sharpest little teeth in the infant world. The last several days we've been back to every two hour feedings, and let me tell you, I do not miss that newborn schedule! We didn't have to wake him to feed him though, so we still got most of each night's sleep. Now I just hope Edward doesn't get it. That would be a serious set back for his diaperless lifestyle.

This coming weekend is Homecoming and we're hoping Edward will enjoy the parade as much or more this year. Last year he sat rapt and holding a single dum-dum sucker in his hand for more than an hour. Unfortunately, both boys have grown out of their Hawkeye apparel. We captured this shot just before leaving for school on "spirit day" (the Friday before the big show down with Iowa State.) These shirts do not offer full belly coverage for active boys. We'll have to see if we can remedy that sometime this week.