Adventure Girls and Ferd

Thank goodness they picked a good radio station. We are on Day 2 of painters here. Originally they were just going to repair the ceiling in the dining room and bedroom and paint the bedroom walls. Then we thought they could do the front room ceiling too. Since they're at it might as well have them do the walls in the front room. The stairway. And the downstairs bathroom. $$$. We are hoping that the extra cost will result in better showing and a quicker sale.  I am not good at picking colors. The painter suggested Sherwin Williams "Accessible Beige". It is a nice neutral in the greige family of colors. Looks good to me. And it matches our drapes! What do you think of our work in progress? 

T. left on Wednesday in a swirl of last minute panic from Covid tests, $400 in extra luggage fees, and near-missed connections. He is now quaranting in his 2-bedroom apartment with balcony in Stuttgart Mitte. There is a beautiful church across the street and the church bells are driving him crazy. Our previous quandary over which neighborhood to live has quickly turned into wherever is farthest from the church bells!  B. and I are adjusting. In some ways this feels like another deployment or active duty stint. On the other hand I am trying to declutter an overstuffed 1400 sq ft house, with full basement and garage. On my own. While working as a nurse. During a pandemic. While homeschooling my child. Here's how I copied with his departure:  The world's best $7.50 vegan milkshake from Strong Hearts Cafe in Syracuse. Emotional eating at its best.  

This evening was our Auf Wiedersehen dinner with my parents. As soon as we left T. turned to me and asked, "We're doing the right thing, right?" Then he proceeded to list off all the reasons why this feels like the right life-changing decision: new job for T., great school for B., opportunities for B., potential to travel across Europe, career advancement for T.  The most difficult part and the only reason we question this new adventure is leaving my parents. They have such a close relationship with B. They have been such a huge part of her and our lives for the past seven years. They have been our primary babysitters and go-to caregivers when ever we needed help. They kept and cared for B. for 2.5 months during the initial lockdown when we were concerned about potential exposures from my work as a nurse. We are so indebted to them and yet I know they would do it all again in a heartbeat.    My mom gets sad when she goes more than 3 days without seeing B. I am not sure ho

Never thought I'd see the day we would be a 1-car family. But here we are. The Civic has been sold. Oddly enough to a former neighbor from when I was young. We were reminiscing about life on the Hill and I got to thinking.  I have lived in this area for most of my life with short stints in other memorable places like Long Island and New Orleans.  I never thought I would end up back in the Triple Cities but I have been back for 13 years and probably would stay longer if not for this exciting opportunity. I am used to knowing my way around the area, running into old friends at Wegmans, and the comforts of home. I haven't been new to an area in more than a decade. I am nervous about living in a new city, a new country(!), learning how to navigate a public transit system (ok, I am really excited about that one), settling in to a new house, and meeting new people. Journaling has helped me through some difficult times so I am hoping this blogging gig will help as well.  Things I will

Sell T's car. Sell my car. Declutter house. Figure out what we are taking with us. Fix up house. List house. Sell house. Pet vet appointments. Pet passports. International driving licenses. Find a place to live. Buy new car. School for B.  WHERE TO BEGIN???? Anyone want to buy a car? 

I barely remember the preparations for the c-section. The nurses went into high gear. Lab techs were called to take blood, leaving two nice bruises on my arm from a blown vein and a second attempt. The pain was also kicking into high gear and when the anesthesiologist came to speak with me the conversation quickly turned from a genial conversation to me begging him to make the pain go away. Prior to this there was discussion about what to do with baby. We weren't quite to the magical 24 week point where babies are considered viable. By an early sonogram baby was measuring 23w6d. By my last menstrual period baby was considered 23w1d. By ovulation date she was 23w5d. A day's difference may not seem like much but at such a crucial point every day mattered. The hospital I was at has a level 3 NICU appropriate for babies 28 weeks and older. This was the reason for my impending transfer to the other hospital. They could handle babies 24 weeks and older. I heard Colleen speaking t

Why the blog name change? Well, I'll tell you. The blog was previously named, "In Pursuit of a Family" and chronicled the loss of our daughter, considerations of adoption, and ultimate NICU experience with B. We have our family now, though we are always considering expanding the family but won't be doing that biologically and have ethical and moral concerns about spending $50,000 on an adoption but I digress...so we have reached our goal of a family. It is small. It is far from perfect. But it is ours and I am happy with it.  But Adventure Girls and Ferd? Who is this Ferd character? B. loves imaginative play. One game we like to play is, "Adventure Girls".  She and I get to go off on adventures. We have binoculars, field notebooks, and adventure bags. Normally we just play Adventure Girls when we go on hikes but sometimes we use the promise of an adventure to help soften a potentially scary or anxiety-inducing situation. Another thing B. loves to play is fam