Getting settled in

After over a week of hauling boxes and clothes and junk we almost have everything over here at the new place. Some pictures are hung, and lots of stuff has been thrown out or given to Kidney Foundation. It’s been nice to de-junk a little bit. I figure if we’ve been hauling it around with us since we’ve been married and haven’t used it, we probably don’t need it.

We love it here – it’s a great apartment. I love the simplified space. There are only so many places that Jack (and Emily) can get into, and there are no stairs to worry about and the laundry is just right off the kitchen which makes that task much easier. Mark enjoys the air conditioning in particular- he laid down the first night and realized the air conditioning vent was pointed directly at his side of the bed, and he was in heaven.

The doors have those push-button locks on them, so of course Jack managed to lock himself in his bedroom yesterday. He can turn the handles just fine, but when they’re locked they’re a little tougher and he couldn’t manage it. I had to call Mark to tell me how to get him out and then as I was sticking the screwdriver in the little hole, I paused. He was playing happily by himself and he’s been so unbelievably screamy lately… maybe I should just leave him locked in there a while…

The ceilings are vaulted, so my normally loud child is ridiculously loud now. Lovely. He loves to yell just to hear the sound of his voice bounce around the high ceilings, and when he has a tantrum it’s so loud I really believe the neighbors are going to call social services on me one of these days. Jack could easily choose to follow in either Mommy or Daddy’s footsteps in his career choice. He could be an opera singer or a preacher and have no need for a microphone, thank you very much.

The ducks and geese in the pond have a pretty good setup here. They come running waddling over whenever they sense someone on the balcony is about to pitch down some food. There’s a poor goose with a broken wing and a duck with a limp that we always try to give extra Cheerios to. I hate to see what’s going to happen to the injured goose in particular when winter comes, as the usual flight south will apparently not be an option for him.

Anyway, we’re mostly settled in, and the place is reasonably presentable, it is nice just to feel like normal people again.