Hiatus

This post has been backdated. I wrote it over a week ago and then had technology issues.
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I know it hasn't been an eternity since I last posted, but for someone who posts frequently, this is an absolute dry spell. We've been too busy. And now I'm just trying to catch up on my rest, trying not to overdo it. And our Internet at home is broken (I hate Charter) and we haven't been around during business hours to get it fixed. I'm sending this as an e-mail from work, and I hope this is the right address. [It wasn't.] So, here are the highlights (and lowlights) of the last week or so:

1. We closed on our house on Monday, and are now, officially, first time homebuyers. It was just too easy to sign our lives away! I never thought I would ever put down roots, so this is huge for me. Our lease on the apartment continues through the end of June, so we're going to try to take our time in moving, getting the big stuff over to the new house pretty quickly, and then I'll spend sometime sorting through the little stuff, making sure we're not moving junk/trash/things we haven't used since we moved into this place two years ago. I'm hoping we'll be able to make the sleeping transition to the new house by the end of May.

2. Elsie started walking on Monday; that is, she started taking more than one step at a time. She's now up to 4 or 5 steps before sitting or plopping back down. I was at Sylvan when Eli called to tell me. Monday was a big day for all of us. She's also cutting a third tooth, to make its debut any day this week--an upper canine tooth.

3. Elsie is sick for the first time. Sort of. I don't know. She doesn't have a fever. She doesn't have diarrhea. But on Tuesday night, seconds after Eli left to go observe a Kaplan class, she threw up all over me and the (thankfully microfiber) couch. Mostly formula. A day's worth. So, as Super Mom, we went into rescue mode, and by the time I had her in the bathtub she was splashing and kicking and laughing. Put her to bed. A few hours later she woke up crying from hunger. Eli gave her a half a bottle, and a little while later, that too came up. Yesterday I took her to J's. They had a good day with no vomit. I get her in the car headed over to Hobby Lobby, and she's talking and cooing the whole way. We pull into the parking lot and then Elsie throws up. So we head home, all the while she's making raspberries and cooing in the backseat. Bath. Change of clothes. We go to church and then home. I feed her before bed because she hasn't eaten in many hours. I hold her upright until she's almost asleep, probably for about 30-45 minutes. I go to sleep at 8 because I'm exhausted, but wake up from heartburn at 10 something (Eli is studying out in the pool house), and right then I hear her wake up and throw up. I go get her, clean her up, try to wash the puke out of her hair, change her pajamas. Eli comes in and changes her sheets, I take her into the bathroom to wash her face and she throws up all over me and her clean pajamas. Sigh. This morning she is lethargic, trying to be pleasant, but she's not feverish. This is the first time she's really been under the weather quite like this.

4. There are three weeks of school left (Woohoo!!!). And for some reason, our curriculum map puts the research paper last. So, this week has been VERY stressful trying to get these 13-year-olds who have already mentally checked out to care about MLA formatting and to remember how to use the index of a book (and where it is found, even!). Why did I do this to myself? My sanity may suffer a major toll from this.

5. Eli had a job interview. He did not get the job. Now we're moving on to the next possibility, and praying about it.

6. We are recommitted to our "TMMO" and debt snowball, for all you Dave Ramsey fans. Moving two years ago really got us off track, but now that we've taken on this huge house debt, and now that we see the light at the end of the tunnel for my students loans and our credit cards, we are eager to get back to being "gazelle intense". No new washer and dryer. No new furniture. No new car (though the Saturn is 15,000 miles away from the 200k mark). Not until we get it all paid off, except for the house. And we have tickets to go see Dave in Atlanta in OCTOBER!! I'm excited. We're also exploring the possibility of facilitating Financial Peace University in the fall--nothing official, just some dreams and desires.

So, that's the good with the bad. That's our life this month. I'll be glad when April says "adios" on Friday. :)

Cheers.