If you’re not familiar with parenting an infant, then you might think I’m referring to a tire-related incident.  I wish I were.  In parenting terms, “major blowout” indicates a particularly nasty poopy diaper where the “residue” actually blows out the back of the diaper and creates one incredible mess.  Major blowouts usually result in an immediate bath because it’s just easier to clean up that way.  Molly doesn’t get many “blowouts” but we were in for a surprise on the 21st. 

Molly was running around playing and neither Doug nor I were keeping a real close eye on her.  She was upstairs playing in her room, came downstairs and visited Doug in his office.  Doug noticed a smell and investigated.  “Molly’s got a major blowout!”  I came rushing in to handle the aftermath.  As I grabbed Molly and headed for the stairway, I noticed dark spots on the stairs.  At first I thought the dogs had tracked in mud, but then I realized what had happened… Molly had a blowout upstairs, then butt-scooted down the stairs, “leaving her mark” so to speak.  Eewww!  I started to laugh, but Doug was sort of horrified.  I told him to get the camera and take a picture while I got Molly ready for a bath.  These are the things they don’t prepare you for in childbirth classes!

On a side note, I was sure I had forgotten someone’s birthday on the 21st… that date was stuck in my head for some reason and I thought for sure someone I knew was having a birthday.  Later that day, it hit me!  February 21st was Molly’s original due date and should have been her birthday.  All throughout my pregnancy, that date was ingrained into my brain.  She held out for 9 more days, though.  Mystery solved!

We are experiencing some freezing rain right now, so we’re anxiously waiting for the power to go out… better wrap this up soon so it gets posted! 

~ Erin

P.S. Check out new photos in our February album.

With all the snow we’ve gotten lately, there’s not much to do other than to stay inside and wait for it to melt.  So Doug LOVES to play chess and he brought out the old chessboard for some fun.  Every time we’ve ever played, he almost always wins so I don’t really enjoy it. 

However, this weekend has been different.  The first game we played was typical of past experiences… I make a stupid move and lose miserably.  But then we played 4 more games and I won EVERY TIME!  Woo-hoo!  I don’t want to sound like an ungracious winner, but it’s really hard to beat Doug at chess.  And now I am the champion!    I can tell it’s driving him crazy, but I’m not going to give him a “pity win” just to make him feel better… he has to earn it.  Here is our score for 2007 so far: Erin-4, Doug-1. 

~ Erin

We knew we were building our house on the right lot when we met our future neighbors during the summer.  We first met them in June and July when we were visiting the site during construction.  One Friday evening in June, we noticed several of the residents standing out in the street sipping cocktails.  We introduced ourselves and they invited us to their 4th of July gathering.  At that moment, we knew this neighborhood would be different from our previous dwelling.  We never really knew our neighbors while living in our first house for 6 years.  But in the past 4 months at our new house, we’ve gotten to know our new neighbors at Christmas parties, impromptu get-togethers, and chance meetings out in the yard.   

So it shouldn’t have surprised me that our neighbors have come by not once – but twice - to clear out our driveway with their snowblowers during the past week. (My parents gave us their old snowblower about 2 years ago, but it didn’t start up this season.) What a relief to see them coming down the street to offer help as we cleaned up after the snow storms!

We are so grateful for David and Jeff, the “snow angels” who rushed to our aid and helped dig us out!  We really appreciate it!  Good neighbors are truly a blessing!