Home Slice

A year ago we had evacuated to a hotel in New York City and were getting battered by Hurricane Sandy. Today we live in Illinois, at Jen's parents' house in hopes of moving out before Christmas.

Apparently this is the time of year for being displaced.


Last Thursday, Lauren and I did one of the final legs of our house hunt in which we may have found our future home. It is not the home pictured above but we sort of loved that house too.


It had the world's coolest retro wet bar sink with a built in cutting board and little metal bowls set into the table for your limes and lemons, olives, and cherries. If Jen and I consumed more than two martinis every four years combined this would have been a feature we couldn't pass up!


Elliott, continuing to recover from his bout of illness, and now officially off of his pacifier has taken to putting his little stuffed monkey in his mouth and running around the house holding it with his teeth. Sadly, this is the best picture we've been able to capture of this happening.



Last Friday we dressed the kids up in their skeleton costumes in order to participate in our day care's Trunk or Treat event.


Trunk or Treat is apparently a thing. A big thing that I'd never heard of. At first I thought it was something our day care made up but that is not the case. It is a nationwide sensation, something we knew nothing about living in an area where parking lots are not a given. They couldn't have accomplished this in New York without requiring children to walk through the streets and probably get run over by a ConEd truck.


Sunday was cousin Evelyn's baptism. This was a new measure of patience for the boys. They barely made it through their aunt Lauren's graduation a few months ago. Now that they can walk and pretty much like to do so all day it was a bit of a challenge getting them to remain seated.



Here are some pictures of the guys in some of their less rambunctious moments during the two hour ceremony. There are no pictures of me chasing Elliott around the back of the church.


Elliott's been having some night terrors again. We're learning how to deal with them and, basically, that means we just leave him alone to scream for twenty or thirty minutes. It's a little painful but there seems to be no other solution.

This has left Elliott a little crankier than normal in the morning. Martin has attempted to cheer him up the other morning.

It did not work.


Grandad has taken to beginning the boys' music education early by introducing them to the guitar stylings of Rory Gallagher. I'm sure my father will likely continue this education during his Christmas visit with some Chambers Brothers.


Their nightly routine now consists of us trying to identify when they are too tired to remain downstairs then herd them upstairs for bath and bedtime. Climbing the stairs is one of their favorite moments of the day aside from Elliott hitting people, dogs, and things and Martin tossing his food with amazing force and accuracy.

Monday night saw an offer on a house accepted so we only need go through the inspection and the remainder of the closing before we can relieve her parents of the burden of having us all in their home.

Progress!