Catching Our Breath

It's hard to believe that the end of summer is almost upon us. We head out Wednesday night for a much needed break to the north woods of Wisconsin to see Ryan's grandparents and much of the rest of the extended clan.

Fortunately, we leave summer with a bit of hope on the horizon. Tomorrow, I "re-interview" for the job I thought I had and that I still desperately want. I've got my fingers and toes crossed but I am not really sure what to expect since I don't understand all the bureaucratic machinations behind the cancellation of the selection in the first place. Still, I bought a new suit for the occasion and will actually blow dry my hair for once. Nothing like the right impressions!

Today, we met with a kitten that we may adopt through the SPCA of Northern VA. Because of our vacation plans, we couldn't possibly adopt her/take her home until we come back but Izzy is thrilled by the prospect. She spent some time playing with the kitten and her two brothers in the foster home this afternoon. She already has a pink collar picked out. I should be thankful it doesn't have rhinestones on it.

We do desperately need a new kitten since Coco has taken to expressing loneliness, boredom, what have you by leaving little presents for us in the living room. Thursday Ryan and I both walked through said present right before we were due to go to work and yesterday Izzy had the honors. I love motherhood. Not only did I have to scrub and clean the piles off the carpet but I had to scrub Isabel's foot down. Yum!

In other news, both girls finished their ballet class this weekend. Since I posted a pic of Lottie last week, here are some fun ones of Izzy for this week. (I meant to take more of Lottie but like the bad mommy I am, I didn't charge the camera battery beforehand. Oops.

I felt like an especially bad mommy with Lottie since not only did all the other parents come equipped with camera and video to record this precious moment of their young female offspring not listening to someone else while dressed in pink tulle, they also dragged along assorted grandparents to capture the moment. Double oops.

I think that's all we really have to report. Oh- and I finally took a picture of the kitchen project in progress. This will mean nothing to any of you who have not been to my house, but if I am feeling ambitious, I'll post separately the really before pixs. For those who are familiar, check this out-

Sexy, huh? We are waiting for the new countertops to come in and Ryan is going to reface that heinous cabinet that you get a suggestion of in this picture (a nice formica addition that matches nothing else). A new floor and really right sexy, I'd say. I actually am really starting to love it. Now, if only we could get rid of the behemoth refrigerator...

Happy Sunday all!

Lordy it's been a while

Lottie is appalled I haven't blogged in more than a month. Or is she enjoying the train ride at Lake Braddock park?

I can't believe I've been off blogging for so long. That's what I get for ending my sabbatical in early July and going back to my regular job. Boo hoo for me I guess.

Our summer since I last wrote has been both bitter and sweet. Sweet first since it seems only fair (nothing like an anvil to get people interested in your blog again.) The girls have both been taking ballet class to some success. Lottie spends most of her time ignoring her teacher and making exaggerated faces at herself in the wall length mirror. That is when she's not hanging off the ballet bar. Isabel has actually gotten pretty good at it and is perhaps the second most earnest girl in her class. It's easy to get her to listen to her teacher. We've been making excellent progress on our kitchen project. We have the cabinets painted now and Ryan this weekend installed some nifty under the counter lights. Home Depot is coming to measure for the new countertop this week and we brought home floor samples from Ikea. I might actually not be embarrassed of our kitchen soon. How exciting!


The reluctant ballerina


Izzy and Ryan on the go

On the sad side, we lost one of our cats very suddenly about 3 weeks ago. We took her to the vet on a Monday AM thinking she was looking too thin and was having a hard time breathing and the next thing we know, our vet calls and tells us she's terminal. Ryan came to the vet with me to put her down and we both cried and went to the local pub and shared a pint. As terrible as it was, I was so grateful to have him in my life. I can't imagine having to go through life's sorrows large and small without him. Even sadder than our cat, my cousin who has struggled to get pregnant lost the twin boys she was carrying. She was probably around 16 weeks or so when it happened. We were set to go to NJ for an early baby shower when we heard the news. Finally, I was selected for a job I really, really wanted (and still do) in mid July only to have my "big" bosses decide the selection process was not everything it could have been and canceled the selection as a result. I was so put out by the whole thing I dyed my own hair (something I've done only once before in college when I thought it would be fun to have red hair after a very long winter) and encouraged a family make-over. That's right. A personal makeover was not enough. The girls and I all got our hair cut and Ryan shaved off his beard (again.) I should have probably taken a picture right after but my mood was still a little black even if my hair was a little blonder.

I'm personally just hoping for lots of luck and good fortune in the autumn.

We have a bit more summer fun in our future before officially signing off of the season. We head next week to WI for a week long vacation with Ryan's family. Izzy swears she'll go on the boat ride this year around Squirrel Lake (Ryan's grandparents have a lake house in the north woods that attracts city folk like us once a year.) I have tried to explain to her that I will not hold her hand, though, when she goes fishing since I don't fish. I don't know why, but she has developed a real enthusiasm for the concept of fishing. This from a kid who tried to dive off the paddle boat we had her on last weekend before realizing it was not in fact scary.


Well, cowboys and girls, it's time this little doggy goes to bed. Hope everyone has been well during my hiatus! Talk to you real soon. (and yes- I realize they have black dots on their noses in this one. That's another story for another day.)