Mice VS Moose!

I hate mice. Specifically, I hate mice in my home. Outside little country mice that I don't see are perfectly fine. (Unlike squirrels which I absolutely hate inside or out, but that's because I'm scared of them because I'm convinced that they're all sociopaths. Yes, squirrels are sociopaths.) We haven't (knock on wood) had any mice issues here in NH. But I'm kind of living in fear of the moose. No, I don't think I'll see a moose scurrying across the kitchen counter at 2 AM. I'm afraid one will decide to cross the street. In front of my moving car.

There are all these moose crossing signs around here and everyone time I drive past one I kind of freak out. You really don't want to hit a moose. Not only will it wreck your brand new car, it can also wreck you. And your little baby. It's no joke. The other morning on the NPR affilate it was announced in the local news section that a couple had a moose accident and were air lifted to a fancy hospital. A doctor I met said all the ER accidents up here are related to hunting and moose. Back in Brooklyn it was guns and knives but here it's the big beasts!

Interestingly enough despite all the road kill around here, you don't actually see any of it. Know why? Apparently, there's a "road kill" list. When your name comes up, you get the call at 3 AM that there's a downed moose on 89 South so you get in your truck and go get it. Weird, huh?

So keep your fingers crossed that no moose cross our paths and that N. doesn't put us on the "road kill list" because we have no idea how to dress a moose, Sarah Palin, and we like it like that!

Milestones of the Month

What do you know, kids? We've been we've been livng free or dying for a whole month now. Some NH milestones are:

1 I joined the gym.
2. AND I went swimming. And it wasn't in a maternity suit! And I got to use the hot tub and sauna without fear of over heating a fetus!

3. I went to to the library and took out a book! The book wasn't about kids or parenting at all. It's fiction and I've read about 70 pages! I might even finish it before 2009.

4. I drank a drink made with liquor.

5. I stayed awake for a whole episode of "Mad Men".

6. I registered my car and myself (to vote) in the state of New Hampshire.

7. I volunteered for Barack Obama. You should too.

8. We went to a party. At nightish. Given by someone I met who might become a friend.

9. I cooked five course meal in which everything---from pasta to pie crust---was made from scratch using only organic, locally grown products.

Okay, the last one is just keeping you on your toes. But all the rest, cross my heart, are true.

All About N.

The Bean and I think N. was a little hurt that he wasn't included in the last "what's going on" post. I mean we even mentioned the wonderful post office! Again! So this post is dedicated to N. We're also curious as to when he discovers this dedication as he's sometimes neglectful of his favorite Brooklyn blog.

N. has been working really hard. The days when he used to sit on the couch and stare lovingly at his iPhone are long gone. His new school is very awesome so he has to be awesome while there, which means going to work on Saturdays and Mondays when doesn't even have to. N. wakes up very early in the morning while the Bean and I snooze till about 8:00 or 9:00. (I should say this is the only snoozing we do all day and I'm like way more tired than N. so don't feel too bad for him). After N. has driven into the sun to teach his awesome students at his awesome school he has to deal with making the program better which involves a lot of meetings and various other things that apparently quite involved. Then he has to go to this really huge (for us, apparently for locals it's the small one) Hannafords to pick up the various things I've texted him to buy which always seems to include: diapers, turkey, and batteries. Then he has to drive home into the sun and come home to a very messy house, a very tired wife, and a very cute, overtired baby who needs a bath and be put to bed.

Once he came home to a wok that was on fire but that's probably best for a post that's more removed from the actual incident.

After N. has bathed the cute baby and put her to bed, he eats a dinner that consists of frozen things that are partially reheated because his wife likes to cut corners when it comes to meals these days.

After the wife has collapsed in her semi-frozen soup, N. must deal with the dishes from the entire day and put together whatever terrible plastic baby sleep-aid/toy his wife has gotten that day even though the directions are often only in Chinese.

Weekends require N. to spend loads of time putting big wooden things together or hanging cumbersome clocks and 80 pound mirrors. For fun, wife and baby have N. take 8,000 pounds of garbage and recycling to the dump before going to mobbed box stores to buy more things they would like him to put together.

So while you might feel a bit sorry for N. and his two full-time jobs, don't feel too bad. He, unlike, some people can still have a stiff drink at the end of the day and not be concerned as to what it might do to the cute baby's development when ingested by the cute baby from her mother's milk.

Say, Momma, What's Going On?

Baby: not a whole lot of sleeping that's for sure. Bean is still excellent, but not an excellent sleeper. She doesn't like to nap, which means she gets overtired, which means it takes her parents an extremely tiring amount of time to get her to sleep at night and because she's growing like a weed she wakes every two hours to eat which means mom is pretty sleep deprived and thinks a really long sentence will get the point across. Whew. Today I had what would be a degrading situation if it had been someone other than an almost 6-week year old in the room. I was on my hands and knees rocking the bassinet. Why was I on my hands and knees? I was hiding from the baby. When she sees me, her eyes fly open. Really. She's kind of a genius like that. This morning when N. was trying to give her a bottle she refused to take it so he put her back to bed. It wasn't until his milk was poured in his coffee and he was about to take a bite of cereal that Bean decides she'll take the bottle.

Car: still cute even in the driveway.

NH: I'm sick of the two main restaurants in town, that's for sure. But there are some things NH does better than Bklyn. Like the food co-op. The Bklyn co-op was so small that you'd never consider going there on a Sunday at 5:00 unless you're some kind of masochist. The one here? Totally empty. And huge. And there's never a line at the bank. Or, as you remember, the post office.

Another thing I like about NH: kids playing on the streets. Not babies being wheeled around in gourmet strollers in gourmet playgrounds by their parents but real kids ages like 8-11 riding bikes and playing ball on their own.

Another plus about NH: Did I mention there's no sales tax? Regardless, I spend like no money here. Back in Bklyn, I spent money just breathing. Of course I did spend like a kagillion dollars at the Coop on Sunday but we do need to eat.

Baby Crap: just keeps coming into our house. Tonight poor N. has to put together the Graco Swing. I considered putting it together but keeping Bean together is job enough. Besides, I'm really bad at putting stuff together. Especially if there's 40 steps and 80 pieces. And screws are involved.

Other people commenting on the dearth of blog updates: shouldn't really talk now, should they?

Knitting: I'm considering learning how to do it. Bean nurses a lot, it's gonna be cold a lot soon. Shouldn't these two things come together? Any knitters out there? Do you think someone who's bad at putting things together and not really sewy can learn to make knots?

The New York Times: why do I keep buying it when I don't ever read it? It's a good thing they don't deliver to this zip code.

Brooklyn: I'm too consumed with general day to day living to miss it but say hi if you see her.

Bigger Than A Baby and A Bread Box

What's bigger than a baby and bread box, you ask? My new super cute Subaru Imprezia Sport. Yeah, Sport, cuz it's a hatchback and very styling because even though I'm a mom who has barely has time to look in the mirror I still need some cool wheels.

I love my new car. It's been ten years since I've had my own car and I forgot how fun it is to drive not in a city. City driving sucks. Country driving while listening to loud rock music that you listened to in high school (no, the baby isn't in the car, mom, I know loud music is not good for little ears) is fun. It's freedom and man does it feel good.

Driving with the Bean isn't as scary as I thought it would be. It's miserable to drive while she cries but today she stopped as soon as I turned on Lucinda Williams. Driving in the winter is going to be a whole another deal but like I said, here's to a balmy NH winter.

Today the Bean is one month old! Nice job, Bean. She spit-up like someone's skinny cat all day to celebrate. There's nothing like baby spit-up all over your clothes, couch, and car to really welcome in September. Here's hoping that month #2 will be excellent and possibly provide a few more sleep opportunities for good old mom and dad as we've had about 23 this month combined.