07/06/2007

The Jones' Family Library grew significantly today. I had read an advertisement online for a HUGE children's book sale, and I told Nick that we had to go. Buying books is SO expensive, but I love reading to/with Nathan, so this sounded perfect. It was even better than I could have imagined! I came home with a Target bag literally bursting at the seams. It was full of books. We have added some classics to our collection: The Night Before Christmas, The Ugly Duckling, Little Women (OK, probably for Nia more than Nathan), Peter Rabbit, etc. We also just got some fun, random titles like 'Dot the Firehouse Dog' and 'Who Sank the Boat?' (I joked with Nick that the answer to that one was 'Daddy.' Daddy sunk the boat!) Anyways, none of the books were priced at more than $.50, and a great deal of them were totally free! I love it! I was like a kid in a candy shop. Nick was thrilled that the grand total was $5.50. Not bad, eh?

In other news, I finished Nia's quilt during Nathan's nap time today. It is sailboat themed, but it still girly enough to suit our little sailor-ess. I am glad to check this project off my list. We are really quite prepared for Miss Nia. Her clothes are neatly organized and hung in the closet according to size and category; her bed has been outfitted with the new blanket and the Build-a-Bear we created for her; and her name has LONG been selected. At least we won't be among those fighting over names at the hospital. In fact, even if an unfortunate miscalculation leaves us with a boy we have a name picked out. Let's hope (for Nick's sake) that we do NOT need to use it!

Our roof was finally fixed yesterday. The buckets needed to prevent flooding were becoming overwhelming, so Nick insisted that someone come check out the problem even if the rain was scheduled to continue. One lonesome repair man was shown into our apartment. He took one look at the ceiling, covered in water stains and dripping relentlessly, and said, "Oh, dear!" He left and shortly returned with an entire crew who spent a good portion of the day banging away on the roof. I hope they fixed all the problem areas! Today the sheet wall/painter came and made the place look pretty again. It had really become an eyesore.

Stray dogs seem to be taking over Houston. Yesterday, in the space of an hour or two, we saw two of them. We tried to catch the first one, but he was skittish and growly--not exactly the type of canine I want sharing the backseat of the car with Nathan. We just let him go on his merry way. The next dog that we saw was a yellow lab mix. He was significantly overweight which indicated to me that he hadn't gone long since his last meal. Anyways, he was delighted to be picked up. Nick and I spent several hours making phone calls and inquiring about where we could take this stray canine. The answer was as follows, "You can keep him until morning and then take him to a rescue, or you can just let him go back on the streets." An effective method of reducing the stray pet population, don't you think? We debated for some time about what we should do, but eventually just opened the front door and encouraged him to leave. Hope he didn't get hit by a car. At least no one could say we didn't try.

Tomorrow's agenda includes going to a Farmer's Market in Houston and then taking Nathan to the Memorial City Mall to play in their HUGE play castle. It is a castle-themed play area that extends up to something like 26 feet in the air and is supposedly a child's wonderland. I plan to locate the mall's Starbucks, order a raspberry mocha, and sit down to watch Nathan and Daddy as they explore this play place. Sitting is a wonderful, yet rare, experience for me. Nathan ensures that I take far more steps than the average American and, despite the fact that I now resemble a misconstrued camel (the one hump kind), often even prompts me into a full sprint--usually to save his life! That's all for now. Tally-ho!