TMI Tuesday: Get In The Car Daddy!

When my wife and I were planning out our summer last year we weren’t quite sure how our son would react to being in the car for long stretches of time. As it turned out, he enjoyed the time exploring and seeing new places… at least to a certain extent. Of course, last summer he spent most of his time sleeping as the mile markers slipped by the window and sometimes my wife would join him in slumber. Things are quite different now and it is hard to tell how long he would be able to stay in the car before he has enough.

This doesn’t mean that he doesn’t enjoy traveling or being in the car. On the contrary in fact. This weekend was a perfect example of this as there were many instances when we were outside and every now and again, usually whenever he caught a glimpse of my car in the driveway, he would point, babble something, and start leaning toward the car. We quickly discovered that what he was saying was “Get in the car daddy! I want to go for a drive!” So, shortly after, we would pack everything up, climb in the car, and get on the road… fortunately we had some idea as to where we were headed. At least this time around.

Almost as soon as the car would start moving, this restlessness ceased. Unlike the previous year, he was wide awake the entire time we spent driving around the area. Between looking out the window, playing with his small toys, and giving me a wide smile when I would reach back and tussle his hair, he was a happy little toddler enjoying the time on the road with mommy and daddy. And this change has got us thinking about our plans for this year… our, as of now, undecided plans.

It is amazing, but not surprising, to think about all the different things that our son enjoys and the fact that most of them are quite simple. He is not into a lot of the fancy toys or overstimulating shows, he enjoys the simpler things. He likes his wooden and overall non mechanical toys probably more than any others. He enjoys Mickey Mouse and Sunday Morning on the television. However, what he seems to enjoy most is exploring and seeing the world from behind the car window as well as experiencing new places. It makes me glad that we decided to be cautious by replacing my car and, at this point, I guess we better get moving on booking a few places to stay over the summer and schedule a few other day trips.

Mortgage Monday: An Extra Day To Assess

Well, our next mortgage payment was delayed by an extra day as we have a bonus 24 hours this month. While usually not something to write about the warm weather lately has made this extra time particularly enjoyable especially with nearly all of the remaining snow melting in the spring like air. As the white lines have receded I have been noticing the work that has yet to be done on the property as well as the yard chores that I failed to complete before the bitterness of the winter season took hold.

Walking around the driveway I can see that the retaining wall is a little more deteriorated than I originally realized but it is still holding back the earth. Thankfully, we have some time before the rotting railroad ties are going to have to be replaced. Good thing I know a stone mason living next door. Of course, the leaves wedged against the base of the wall are not helping the situation. As soon as the weather turns toward the regularity of spring I am going to have to do some significant clearing.

That clearing doesn’t just apply to the base of the wall as the flower beds and much of the lawn still has a health covering of foliage. While we already have a rake I am going to have to pick up the lawnmower attachment and switch out the snow blower. With all these things that need to be done in the near future I kind of wish that we could put this extra day in the bank and use it for when we need it especially if we could do so to extend a weekend.

However, some of the good things that I have definitely noticed during this extra time is that even with all the snow piled by the wind against the house, the basement has remained dry. Noisy with the boiler switching on and off all day and night by dry nevertheless. With that said, there are a few spots that also need to be addressed on the subterranean level as the sealant is showing signs of age in spots and a fresh coating should be applied before the monsoons of spring.

There are always projects that will need to be done… we accepted this fact when we decided to become home owners and at least there are many items that aren’t dire and that can wait a little while for when we have the time. Heck, they are probably going to be taken care of when we have all the optional work done on the house. Now that list is one that is growing much faster than that of the mandatory fixes.