Breathing ... sitting ... relaxing ... ahhhhh
The last few months have certainly been busy but nothing like the last week. Last Tuesday, after spending the weekend grading exams and tying up loose ends in town, E and I packed up the Passat and cleared out of our temporary housing in Urbana. After a morning of last minute errands, it took 4 hours to pack up, in large part because my sweet darling little boy remembered he was 2 that day and was therefore not supposed to cooperate in any way. I will never forgive the school district for shutting down for the entire week before Christmas.
We finally reached our new temporary home in TN at 12:30 in the morning. We unpacked a bit and toddled off to bed. The next day, I (or at least the Passat) became a resident of Anderson County, TN. You see, in TN, cars are registered by county and it says so right on the plate. The amusing thing is, in less than a month we'll be residents of Knox County. I did not have the luxury of waiting as my IL registration expires at the end of December.
The next day, we left TN for a week and a half of traveling. We started off on the road to Raleigh, only to find a rock slide had closed the interstate. Over the river and through the mountains we went, finally making it to see the Mav's Grandma for a few minutes before the child fell to pieces. A nice, but quick Christmas eve and morning visit with part of the family gave way to yet another car trip; this time to Baltimore. A short flight put us into the care of Nana and Granddah, just in time for some more Christmas festivities and then a lovely stomach bug.
In a few days, we'll hit the road again for a short stay in DC and then back to establish more permanent residency in the land of Volunteers.
(note: traveling without our camera!)
Monday, December 28, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Together again...
It's temporary though. E and I return to the land of cold and wind next week. We're all here in TEMPORARY HOUSING PART 2 right now. And let me tell you, the sequel is way better than the original. This apartment is about as big as our old house and, get this, has a washer, dryer, and dishwasher! I'm no domestic diva but there is something to be said for being able to wash my boy's jammies without spending 2 hours in an unheated laundry room.
Fingers crossed please; we are putting an offer on a house tomorrow. We like it a lot. It's convenient to work. E has had enough house hunting. If the offer is accepted, then we'll soon have a house with enough room for lots of company (hint, hint!)
Saturday, December 5, 2009
New Parmen
Well, we've moved. To Urbana, the town next to Champaign. E and I are now living in the family and graduate housing here at the university. It is also the temporary housing for university visitors, and since I'm a visiting assistant professor here this semester, I was eligible to take advantage of the university's accommodations.
It is plenty big enough for me and the small boy and our few things that didn't take a big truck to a storage facility in TN. It was a bit tight with the Mav here last week and his two suitcases. Yes, just two suitcases made the difference between functional and not.
I know that for much of the world these would be some classy digs. My grammar school indoctrination told me that, in Soviet Russia, an extended family of 12 would be lucky to have this partially underground 600 square feet. It has heat. It has plumbing. It has parking.
It has 5 different types of tile.
5 different types of brown, beige and white tile expertly arranged throughout.
It is in good repair and has hot water.
The smell blowing in from the South Farms reminds us of the university's roots as an agriculture school. Ahhh, tradition never smelled so, well, stinky, before.
E is handling the change remarkably well. When I say we are going home he replies "to our new parmen, not our house." He was a bit upset when his Daddy left for TN today and we stayed behind but then he stoically accepted that our turn to go to TN is next week. (I haven't really told him that we'll be coming back here for another week after our house hunting trip).
In other news, E got a haircut. A very, very short haircut. I'm new to the boy's haircuts and apparently was not specific enough in my instructions. Ah well, it grows quickly and at least it is easy to wash.
It is plenty big enough for me and the small boy and our few things that didn't take a big truck to a storage facility in TN. It was a bit tight with the Mav here last week and his two suitcases. Yes, just two suitcases made the difference between functional and not.
I know that for much of the world these would be some classy digs. My grammar school indoctrination told me that, in Soviet Russia, an extended family of 12 would be lucky to have this partially underground 600 square feet. It has heat. It has plumbing. It has parking.
It has 5 different types of tile.
5 different types of brown, beige and white tile expertly arranged throughout.
It is in good repair and has hot water.
The smell blowing in from the South Farms reminds us of the university's roots as an agriculture school. Ahhh, tradition never smelled so, well, stinky, before.
E is handling the change remarkably well. When I say we are going home he replies "to our new parmen, not our house." He was a bit upset when his Daddy left for TN today and we stayed behind but then he stoically accepted that our turn to go to TN is next week. (I haven't really told him that we'll be coming back here for another week after our house hunting trip).
In other news, E got a haircut. A very, very short haircut. I'm new to the boy's haircuts and apparently was not specific enough in my instructions. Ah well, it grows quickly and at least it is easy to wash.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Moving Out Day, Champaign Edition
I am sitting in a rocking chair in the corner of Evan's room because it is the only chair not covered in furniture pads. All my stuff is being loaded onto a truck right now and I can't concentrated on work. In a few hours all that will remain in my house is a crib, a futon, and some suitcases.
7 years we were here. We painted every wall. Some twice. We patched cracks. We tore down walls and rebuilt windows. We learned about plaster and power washers. We kept Lowes in business for a few years there.
We decided that home repair is not really our forte.
We wrote dissertations here.
We rode the waves of graduate school here. We worked real jobs here too. Ones that actually payed us to sit in our sunny second floor office at our homemade desk, big enough for all (well, most) of our computers.
This was Evan's very first home. He learned to sit, crawl, walk, and talk here. He learned to run, and giggle, and tell the cat to get off the counters.
He learned that cats do not listen well.
When we first moved in to this house, the cat, barely more than a kitten then, sat at the top of the stairs and watched us move everything in. He couldn't run out the door because he was afraid to go down the stairs.
Now, we get notices that it's time for the cat's "geriatric" health evaluations. He's now shut in the bathroom closet so he doesn't run out the door that is held open all morning. He's not happy about that.
E is at school this morning, thank goodness. He loves his school and they love him there. His teachers are very sad that he will be leaving and I am very sad we will be leaving them. I haven't broken that part to E yet. He knows we're moving to "Tensee" and that we are going to a "parmen" but I don't think he really knows what that means. Tomorrow we will walk to school but I'll pick him up in the car to drive him to our new, temporary home.
No pictures right now. The cameras are packed so they don't go on the big truck. Same with the picture hard drive. Don't worry, it won't be two months without pictures; maybe just a couple more days. Then we'll be settled in the new place just in time to head off to New Mexico!
7 years we were here. We painted every wall. Some twice. We patched cracks. We tore down walls and rebuilt windows. We learned about plaster and power washers. We kept Lowes in business for a few years there.
We decided that home repair is not really our forte.
We wrote dissertations here.
We rode the waves of graduate school here. We worked real jobs here too. Ones that actually payed us to sit in our sunny second floor office at our homemade desk, big enough for all (well, most) of our computers.
This was Evan's very first home. He learned to sit, crawl, walk, and talk here. He learned to run, and giggle, and tell the cat to get off the counters.
He learned that cats do not listen well.
When we first moved in to this house, the cat, barely more than a kitten then, sat at the top of the stairs and watched us move everything in. He couldn't run out the door because he was afraid to go down the stairs.
Now, we get notices that it's time for the cat's "geriatric" health evaluations. He's now shut in the bathroom closet so he doesn't run out the door that is held open all morning. He's not happy about that.
E is at school this morning, thank goodness. He loves his school and they love him there. His teachers are very sad that he will be leaving and I am very sad we will be leaving them. I haven't broken that part to E yet. He knows we're moving to "Tensee" and that we are going to a "parmen" but I don't think he really knows what that means. Tomorrow we will walk to school but I'll pick him up in the car to drive him to our new, temporary home.
No pictures right now. The cameras are packed so they don't go on the big truck. Same with the picture hard drive. Don't worry, it won't be two months without pictures; maybe just a couple more days. Then we'll be settled in the new place just in time to head off to New Mexico!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
The Real 5th Beatle
Sorry for the contrast problems. Well sort-of sorry, I'm pretty happy for sunny, 70 degree weather in November.
Friday, November 6, 2009
The Method Actor
Mornings begin as evenings end, with a book and a cup of milk and some snuggle time. These days we're side-by-side on the couch rather than he in my lap in our rocking chair. There is often as much talking and interacting as one-sided reading now.
This morning we sat down with Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy Town and took up where we left off the night before. After reaching the page about supermarkets, E (and his appetite) were starting to really wake up after a long night's sleep. He pinched his fingers near the picture of the apple bin and offered me an apple. I thanked him, of course, and noisily ate my imaginary snack. We traded back and forth like this for a few minutes; a grape for him, a pineapple for me, a pear for him, and tomato for me. He gladly ate the corn. He even tried the celery. Then, I offered him a radish. He tried it and then cried out "I no yike rad!" He nearly had tears in his eyes. For a few moments, he whimpered and buried into my arm until a tempting strawberry restored his good humor and his interest in paper produce.
(Note: to my knowledge, E has never had nor heard of nor seen a radish. Not a real one anyway.)
This morning we sat down with Richard Scarry's Busy, Busy Town and took up where we left off the night before. After reaching the page about supermarkets, E (and his appetite) were starting to really wake up after a long night's sleep. He pinched his fingers near the picture of the apple bin and offered me an apple. I thanked him, of course, and noisily ate my imaginary snack. We traded back and forth like this for a few minutes; a grape for him, a pineapple for me, a pear for him, and tomato for me. He gladly ate the corn. He even tried the celery. Then, I offered him a radish. He tried it and then cried out "I no yike rad!" He nearly had tears in his eyes. For a few moments, he whimpered and buried into my arm until a tempting strawberry restored his good humor and his interest in paper produce.
(Note: to my knowledge, E has never had nor heard of nor seen a radish. Not a real one anyway.)
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Joking around
While discussing how words are spelled ...
E: "P say puh"
Me: "That's right E!"
E: "Wha say boo?"
Me: "Huh? Do you mean buh? B says buh."
E: "No. Wha say boo?"
Me: "I don't know, E"
E: "Ghost say boo!"
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Clap your hands but not too loudly
The other day, we were rocking before bedtime and I asked "Evan, did you have a good day today?"
In reply, E starts singing "If you're happy and you know it". I guess, yes, he did have a good day.
After the song, E says "Shhh, pace tuttle seeping, Mommy." So, maybe the song was actually a lullaby for the now-asleep (and imaginary) space shuttle in E's room.
In reply, E starts singing "If you're happy and you know it". I guess, yes, he did have a good day.
After the song, E says "Shhh, pace tuttle seeping, Mommy." So, maybe the song was actually a lullaby for the now-asleep (and imaginary) space shuttle in E's room.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Up, up, and away
So, I was checking my email and E climbs up in my lap and asks to watch a movie. I ask him "what kind of movie?" and he says "pace tuttle". So I start up a video of still pictures from NASA set to music. E is pretty good at naming some of the pictures: "at-naut", "apollo woket", "yunar wover", etc...
And then, a picture of the shuttle attached to an airplane comes up. E says "dat X15 woket pane wid tuttle on back". And I think, "no, E, the X15 rocket plane predates the shuttle, the shuttle flys on the back of a 747."
And then I think: "6 months ago I didn't have any idea about X15 rocket planes or that shuttle moves around on a 747."
I knew having a kid would teach me a lot about a lot of things but I didn't know I would learn more about the space program in the first 2 years of his life than from the first 30 of mine.
And then, a picture of the shuttle attached to an airplane comes up. E says "dat X15 woket pane wid tuttle on back". And I think, "no, E, the X15 rocket plane predates the shuttle, the shuttle flys on the back of a 747."
And then I think: "6 months ago I didn't have any idea about X15 rocket planes or that shuttle moves around on a 747."
I knew having a kid would teach me a lot about a lot of things but I didn't know I would learn more about the space program in the first 2 years of his life than from the first 30 of mine.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Landmarks
"DAT LIBRARY MOMMY! HAVE BOOKS DAR!"
(at top of his lungs as we drive by the library, from the opposite direction we usually approach it from)
"dat MY paygound!"
(anytime we see the city playground a couple of blocks from our house)
"see tain?"
(on arriving at my office, which happens to have a model train in one of the entry ways)
"Where backtoe go?"
(on not seeing backhoes where backhoes once were)
(at top of his lungs as we drive by the library, from the opposite direction we usually approach it from)
"dat MY paygound!"
(anytime we see the city playground a couple of blocks from our house)
"see tain?"
(on arriving at my office, which happens to have a model train in one of the entry ways)
"Where backtoe go?"
(on not seeing backhoes where backhoes once were)
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Playing Purple Playdough
It's one of those mornings when having a two year old around is delightful. E woke up in a great mood. I scooped him out of his crib, changed his diaper and brought him in to watch tv in "mommy daddy room", as has been our habit on the weekends for awhile. After about 10 minutes the Curious George we were watching ended. E said "turn off". Then he says :" go wite " (write). To be sure I was correctly understanding that he wanted to turn off the tv and go write, I repeated his requests. E nodded but then says "pay paydough" (we keep the playdough in the same container as the crayons and so he associates them.) He tilts his head and asks "purple paydough? I pay purple paydough?"
We get out of bed and head for the stairs. E pops his head into the office and calls out "Diddle, in there? Come dow tairs!"
I offer to hold E's hand going down the stairs but E says "I go behind Mommy. I be daredull."
Once downstairs, E climbs into his highchair and I retrieve the purple playdough. I then sat down beside him, coffee in hand.
"Mommy pay purple paydough pease."
We get out of bed and head for the stairs. E pops his head into the office and calls out "Diddle, in there? Come dow tairs!"
I offer to hold E's hand going down the stairs but E says "I go behind Mommy. I be daredull."
Once downstairs, E climbs into his highchair and I retrieve the purple playdough. I then sat down beside him, coffee in hand.
"Mommy pay purple paydough pease."
Friday, September 25, 2009
The one where I explain what is going on around here
Dear friends and family,
Life is changing for us at Cochrans-in-Exile. The Mav and I have completed our sentences (aka finished graduate school). The terms of my parole have me in a work-release program as I learn to become a productive member of society (i.e, I'm teaching a class here). The Mav, however, was ordered to leave the state. He was given his choice of two federal institutions at which he could start to repay his debt to society (well, to student loan companies, anyway). It turns out that the Mav was a model prisoner and the two federal institutions (national labs) got into a bit of custody battle over him. The one in Tennessee prevailed but requires a 6 week waiting period before the Mav can transfer down there (I guess he's more dangerous than a handgun). So, he's being held at the NM facility while TN prepares for the transfer.
Ok, ok ... graduate school wasn't actually like prison. So here's what is going on. E and I are still here. I'm teaching a course at the university and trying to finish up a project for my engineering job. The big guy left last weekend for approx. 2 months at the lab in NM. The house is on the market. The plan is for the Mav to start working in TN sometimes in December and the little guy and I will join him there once my class is finished. Hopefully, the house will be sold by then but there haven't been any offers yet.
Tennessee, huh? Yep, Tennessee. Not exactly the promised land. At least there's no need to change the name of the blog. But ... we are getting mountains. And less bitter winters. There's an airport or two. It sure is pretty there. Or, purr-tee.
Cross your fingers that
1. the house sells soon (because I'm very tired of keeping it clean -- so many thanks to Nana though for getting it ship-shape).
2. E and I don't go crazy without the big guy here.
3. my students do well on their test on Monday; it is so much easier to grade when their answers are right.
Life is changing for us at Cochrans-in-Exile. The Mav and I have completed our sentences (aka finished graduate school). The terms of my parole have me in a work-release program as I learn to become a productive member of society (i.e, I'm teaching a class here). The Mav, however, was ordered to leave the state. He was given his choice of two federal institutions at which he could start to repay his debt to society (well, to student loan companies, anyway). It turns out that the Mav was a model prisoner and the two federal institutions (national labs) got into a bit of custody battle over him. The one in Tennessee prevailed but requires a 6 week waiting period before the Mav can transfer down there (I guess he's more dangerous than a handgun). So, he's being held at the NM facility while TN prepares for the transfer.
Ok, ok ... graduate school wasn't actually like prison. So here's what is going on. E and I are still here. I'm teaching a course at the university and trying to finish up a project for my engineering job. The big guy left last weekend for approx. 2 months at the lab in NM. The house is on the market. The plan is for the Mav to start working in TN sometimes in December and the little guy and I will join him there once my class is finished. Hopefully, the house will be sold by then but there haven't been any offers yet.
Tennessee, huh? Yep, Tennessee. Not exactly the promised land. At least there's no need to change the name of the blog. But ... we are getting mountains. And less bitter winters. There's an airport or two. It sure is pretty there. Or, purr-tee.
Cross your fingers that
1. the house sells soon (because I'm very tired of keeping it clean -- so many thanks to Nana though for getting it ship-shape).
2. E and I don't go crazy without the big guy here.
3. my students do well on their test on Monday; it is so much easier to grade when their answers are right.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Blueberries
E and I went blueberry picking a couple of months ago (busy, busy summer = infrequent posting). Other than the mud and the bugs, we both had a great time; E is a good little berry picker. He didn't even eat any while picking but he had a bit a rough start with the "only pick the BLUE ones" rule.
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