Blurbs

• Mom fail: We got to Kearney for Steve's Bible study on Wednesday morning on time and in fine form...until I realized that Edmund didn't have any shoes.  Or socks.  And it was 12 degrees with a windchill of -3.  Good job, me.  So if you saw a rather frazzled looking mom with two blanket-wrapped pajama'ed kids dashing around Wal-Mart at seven in the morning buying socks and shoes, that would have been me.  
• One good thing about the new shoes for Edmund is that they provide a lot more stability in his standing than his Robeez-style shoes.  He is getting bolder about transitioning between furniture and pushes a car "walker" thing all over the house.  I can tell he's ready to make some sort of major developmental milestone because he has been so crabby.  He tries playing with things, but then they don't work like he desires (i.e. tiny object won't fit into tinier hole) and then he whines and moans and throws himself into a prostrate position onto the floor in utter despair.  He was just moaning about something a moment ago, but I decided to ignore him and now he's playing calmly again.  Phew.
• A positive Edmund event?  He gives hugs voluntarily.  And if you mention hugs, he goes "GRRRRRRRRR" and tenses up every muscle in his body and squeezes something.  It's pretty adorable.  He's going to be ONE WHOLE YEAR OLD in two weeks!  What in the world?  I have to say that I really love having two toddlers.  Being able to communicate with and do things with both of them is pretty awesome.
• Harriet is completely absorbed with Toy Story 2 right now.  I'm relieved to have a movie playing that actually has a plot that an adult can appreciate.  Way too much Kipper the Dog lately.  We watched Windstorm in Bubbleland together this morning and even though it was her first viewing (maybe?) she has been singing the songs all day.  So much love in this situation.
• We're plodding along with the home loan stuff.  As anyone who has purchased a home already knows, it's a lot of hurry up and wait.  We had been communicating with a loan officer dude for two weeks and discovered today that we are required to have six months of payments for both properties with a paper trail.  So no tax refund and no gifting from others (both of which are in place for use) will suffice.  Frankly, if we had that much money habitually lounging around in our savings account for months, I think we'd be going for a conventional loan directly from a bank.  Seriously, the illogical nature of this requirement makes my brain want to explode.
• Five minutes til five.  We've been designating 5pm as our "anchor" during which we pick up toys, finish up laundry/dishes and prepare supper.  Having this in place has been so freeing because knowing that I will have a set time to do chores prevents me from obsessively cleaning all day and getting freaked out when the kids mess it up.  Little things, you know?
• It's going to be hard waiting until Steve gets off to eat the roast that's cooking away in the oven.  It smells incredible.  
• Cheerio!