Curb Appeal.

Want to know what our weekend fun was? Cleaning up our yard! It had just gotten to be too much, too dirty, too embarrassing. It's hard to keep up when there's a baby in tow, but after six hours of mowing, weeding, pruning and sweeping, the lawns are short, the edges are clear of weeds and the patio is free of slowly composting leaves and other disgustingness (I had to rehome a lot of poor earthworms today.)

The neighbors came by and I joked with them that we were sorry about bringing down their property values, and that we know we're the worst neighbors on the block. I mean, when you have to get a big shovel out to uproot an angry, pokey weed out of your front yard, you know things have gone too far.

The good news is we got some good exercise out of it. And this morning when I finished cleaning up around the trash cans, I took a picture of some cinder bricks that have been stacked there since we moved in, and put them on the craigslist free section. Within a few hours we had some takers - a middle aged lady and her parents. They loaded up all the bricks, and then asked if they could have this little piece of roofing that used to go over our gate (but has been laying in the ivy near the garbage since we moved in.) Tim said sure, and they told him it was going to be used for their shrine to Buddha. When they were all loaded up and ready to go, the dad turned to Tim and goes "I think this will make Buddha happy." Well, it certainly made us happy!

In other news, Ellie and I are sick again. It's like we rolled out of one cold and into another one. I feel bad for the poor thing - at night I can hear her nose rattling over the baby monitor. Well, except for the night that she was awake for three hours and only wanted her mama mama mama. It's hard to be so loved. It's also hard to blow your own nose while also wiping neon green boogers off your kid's angry little face. She's still been able to enjoy the park these past couple of days, and spending time with her grandparents. We're surviving.