We Miss Our Daddy!

We're now going on 8 days without him, and all 3 of us look forward to his calls each and every day. We're hanging on though, although at times it seems like there's no end in site. We have 5 days left until our 2 day visit, then we do it all again.

There is some good news. It appears that the owners of the house in NJ have accepted our full price offer, we've made it through attorney review, so that means the house is ours, pending inspections. I'll believe it when I see it though. We still don't have an official closing date, so the big move is still up in the air. Right now, it appears the soonest the truck will arrive is the week after Thanksgiving.

For now though, I'm still hanging tight in AL with side trips to LA. As I mentioned earlier, Lise' loves talking to B on the phone. Exhibit A.

Then, as many of you know, I haven't gone down the road of potty training just yet. I had been all geared up to do it in July when things had calmed down for us, but then B came home with the news that USG was closing and we would be moving on. At that time, we never imagined we'd still be here in Oct, so I told Lise' that when we got to the new house, she could learn to use the potty. I know, I know, I accept my mistake in that aspect. To make a long story short she basically refuses to learn here, so I gave up. Then, a few weeks ago, all signs pointed to the fact she was ready. Any book, image or anything relating to a potty grabbed her attention. I continued to ask if she wanted to go for it, but she kept telling me she would learn at the new house. So, I left it alone. I had too many other things to worry about. Then, last week I found her in the bathroom on the potty. Yeah for her! She didn't want me anywhere near, and insisted that I stay in the den. I followed directions, but Abri enjoyed investigating what was going on. Every once in a while, I'd stick my head around the corner to make sure all was well. The jokes on me moment came when I rounded the corner to see Abri playing in the toilet, Lise' sitting on it, and half a roll of paper in the bowl. It gets better, and those without kids won't understand.....Abri was grabbing the drenched toilet paper and putting it in her mouth. Aah...only a mother could love that! It topped the day of all days for me. (and no, as far as I could tell, the bowl didn't contain anything of the nature you're wondering about) I did manage to catch a few pics, so enjoy.



And, last but not least, yesterday the girls and I, along with Lise's friends Ira and Flossie went to Critter Creek. It was loads of fun for the kids. They were able to feed ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. They were also able to see raccoons, foxes, mountain lions and bears. It was quite the menagerie, and it was all on Bubba's farm. Let's just say the only thing between us and the predators was 2 rows of chicken wire and a sign saying don't pet the mountain lion. There were bounce houses and play sets and for the big finale we rode on a hayride down to the "pumpkin patch" (read cleared field where pre-bought pumpkins were placed to look as if they magically grew all in convenient take home sizes). The kids had a ball, and we managed to get home without any ticks.