Tropical Smoochie: Home... sweet... home?

So we have finally landed in Marshfield, WI. Mikey is fast asleep in his big boy- toddler bed. Daddy is off to work with actual patients to see today. The guest bedroom sits empty and quiet now that Grandma Robin has left. As for me... (besides enjoying the quiet house) I'm downloading the 386 pictures I've accumulated in the last 2 months and tackling getting the blog updated.

We have been through so much in the last few months... some of it has been very enjoyable the rest has been extremely tumultuous to say the least. Mike and I have purchased our first home together... the most miraculous thing about that is the fact that we are still married. Unfortunately for us we thought we were going with a good mortgage company only to find out that they are absolutely horrid and they don't ever seem to close a loan with out a gazillion f#%* ups! Ours was not excluded from that category and made for really stressful days... no weeks... no months!

That is past us now and we own a beautiful 23 year old english tudor, in a cul de sac, on a double lot with a tennis court (that needs repair). We chose this house because not only did I fall in love with it but, it is a very well constructed, solid house. The original owner that built this house owns one of the best, if not the best, construction companies in the area. He apparently was a stickler for quality and you can really see that in this house. That however does not make you exempt from dealing with old pipes and valves that just plain needed to be replaced. Lucky for us we had to deal with this when they came to deliver our beautiful new washer and dryer. I was so excited when delivery men pulled in the drive way... only to be told that, "hey lady, we can't get this hose off the valve here. Unless, that is you would like us to pull out a stick of dynamite. Your going to have to call a plumber". I'm thinking you mean the plumber that was just here two days ago fixing my kitchen sink that had been dripping so long that it actually started to flood the basement. The one that I just literally opened the bill up and owe him overtime because he stayed here after five? I think it's a moot point to say anymore... this is what we've been dealing with. I've been so exhausted by the time I get Mikey to bed in the evening I'm just plain done. I can't even keep my eyes open to watch 5 minutes of the news. Which I might add that the top stories the other night were the State Fair (which actually was pretty cool) and a tractor show (can't tell you if that was cool or not).

We are all slowly adjusting to our new life here. Mike's getting used to work and how things run there. Mikey is making friends in the two great playgroups we have been so blessed to find. Plus, after thinking about it for a very long time we have decided to put Mikey in day care two mornings a week for the socialization skills he will learn. We have found an excellent lady who runs it out of her house and the kids are all right around Mikey's age. Mikey is really having a great time. Any of you who know us well know that Mikey and I spend all our time together and he's very much a Mommy's boy. He wouldn't rather be anywhere but with me. However we noticed that anytime Mikey would see other kids his age he would look at them with such want and desire to play with them. Our kid NEEDED to do this. I still have mixed emotions. I stay home so I can raise him and I can't help but feel guilty when I pull out of the day care drive. I know I'm doing the right thing and he's having a great time. It's simply play time for him. It's a few hours where he gets to interact with other kids, do crafts, dance and play games without Mommy hovering over him. So enough with the update, let's show you a bit of what we've been up to.

The Zoo