Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Technical difficulties

Ok, so I'm having some technical difficulties, as you can see.  I kept getting this box that said "my photo/video has been deleted by photobucket"every time I ran my cursor over the big picture in the header.  So, I put on my thinking cap and went through the following steps.

1. Let's look at the HTML and see if anything looks weird.
Solution:  Nothing looked out of place.
2. Let's go the to "Help" button and type my question in.
Solution:  Others shared the same concern.  Their remedies did not work for me.
3. Let's try to change the template.
Solution:  It screwed everything up and I didn't have time to fix it.

Unfortunately, it looks like the problem came from the actual "Cutest Blog on the Block" template that I used before.  Now, I'm having problems getting rid of the link (see side bar).

I'm annoyed.
Any suggestions?

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Miracle upon miracle!!! I fixed it!  I looked up how to install another "Cutest Blog on the Block" template and then worked backwards on how to delete it from my blog!  YEAH for me! Goodness it feels good to complete that, esp. after an incredibly frustrating afternoon messing it up!  Now...if I could only (chirp) be as successful in finding (chirp) that cricket in our living room...(chirp)

Saturday, August 21, 2010

THE experience

We were up for a family adventure a week ago (yes, as if moving 12 hours half-way across the country wasn't enough for us) and decided to drive another 5.5 hours to the Outer Banks to try our hand at beach camping. You will note that we have ZERO pictures of us actually on the beach, which I swear is just over the hill behind us. In two words that sums up our experience: we survived. We laughed (but really, what was the option? Freak out? Tear my hair out? Turn around and go home?) a lot. A few learnings we gleaned from this adventure. You can read between the lines...

1. Get to your campsite during daylight hours.
2. Make sure you do a trial run of your friend's borrowed tent.
3. Put up said tent when it is dry.
4. Check the weather forecast before you leave.
5. Actually, cancel any camping trips that forecast even slight chance of rain and head for the hotel.
6. Do not think that under any circumstance that it will work to sleep in car in rain with kids.
7. Make sure you have no less than a small country's stash of pacifiers for toddler child that is freaked out by tent's shadows at night in thunderstorm with wind howling.
8. Be one with dirt.
9. And mud.
10. And sand.
11. And bugs.
12. Love the quiet moments of digging in the sand, looking for shells, and eating ice cream watching the sunset.
13. Breathe deeply. Life is good. Really good.

Making memories...isn't that what life is all about?
We got our fill with this one!







Settling in

We made it. Well, maybe a more descriptive way to explain our transition is "making it." Moving and settling in always takes time, more time that I usually want to give myself. But each day we are here I am finding that things are becoming more familiar and I am really enjoying the perks of living in a slightly larger city. I've also started to get to know a few other women in our congregation and have enjoyed their budding friendships.

People have asked how the boys are doing through the move. Really, they have functioned beautifully, although Owen goes through moments of sheer angst, "I need a friend to play with!" (Usually dramatized when I decline the request to play lions or dinosaurs or Uno for the 15th time of the day). Connor has taken to his pacifier like crack cocaine, but if that's the worst of it, I'll take it.

During this period where Shawn was between positions, we took our first family camping vacation a few weeks ago (see post). Shawn begins work on Monday the 23rd. He is ready. I am ready. I love him dearly, but I think we all need a routine and predictable schedule.

It will take me some time too, honestly, to figure out how this "stay at home" mothering thing works. We need a rhythm. We need rhythm. We need rhythm. Do you see a theme here? Once we get in the groove here, I'm going to see if I can find another mom to do a kid swap with one morning a week (read: Owen gets a friend, and I get a mental break!) and Shawn has offered to take the boys one night a week so I can go out. I think the largest realization I've had thus far in the settling in process is that I don't want to lose myself in this process. I feel like I can quote to you Veggie Tales and Good Night Moon in my sleep, but have no idea that the Gulf Oil Spill happened (ok, a slight exaggeration, but not really). I would like to take that time to read and write. I'm also throwing around the idea of keeping this blog strictly as a family blog (aka Owen/Connor childhood recording) and starting another one of my own reflections of the spirituality of parenting...