Cold Spaghetti

It was a close shave, but we have survived the madness of the past two weeks. We did it only because we’ve had wonderful HELP. First, my Mom came and stayed with us for a few days (two days longer than initially planned because we threw ourselves to the floor begging). While it was a very busy visit with Paul working around the clock and me lecturing, assistant teaching, holding office hours, translating, and volunteering, I did get to take my Mom and Kate out to lunch.
I found Jim’s Yard Service via Craigslist and decided to give them a call. Our yard was a mess and we had no time to fix it… without decent strides, there would be no pirate birthday for Will. Jim and his brother, Curtis, did a tremendous job. They moved the bricks on the dirt pile (center) and cleaned up the yard. They offered to plant and maintain anything we bought for $5…
….so I went to the The Green Parrot and bought the plants on the right (hibiscus, trained into a tree; two camellia sasquana bushes; and lantana, trained into a tree). The nursery, located right around the corner and filled with great neighborhood folk, sold them with a 25% discount and delivered them for free.Then, I posted to craigslist looking for someone to help remove the brick stairs from the back of the house… the first step in starting to renovate the back of the house. (Note: no stairs off the house!) A local contractor called us, or actually, his secretary did. Turns out, he’s a local: licensed, insured, BBB registered, etc… but his english is poor and he uses an office staff to arrange work. He found out that we are conversational in spanish and things really took off. Bottom line: we’ve got a great, experienced contractor willing to work under the radar and piece-by-peace as we figure out each step and have the funds to pay for it. Paul is hoping to pour a new foundation within the next week.Then, Paul’s Mom arrived! She’s been here almost a week. Will has been in Grandmother heaven… presents, attention, kisses, and constant playtime. Nancy spent a morning at Abeona with the kids and was there to offer extra help during my volunteer hours on Friday. She has watched Will in the afternoon, allowing me to do fun things like … get my hair cut for the first time in over 8 months! She also brought cool aprons (see above) so that I don’t have to keep washing paint out of Will’s clothes.
Saturday, we all went to the Children’s Museum. They were having a special Native American celebration: we listened to storytelling time and Will made a beaded bracelet.
Saturday night, our favorite babysitter Michelle came over and we took Nancy out to Jacque-Imos for dinner. Like Paul and I, Nancy has been adding more meat into her diet. They both seriously impressed me by sharing in one of Jacque-Imo’s signature dishes: shrimp and alligator cheesecake. This morning, Paul was invited to go to the Saints-Bengals game with our neighbors, who ended up with an extra ticket. (Note: This is a REALLY BIG DEAL.) Nancy and I took the kids to Music Together, where Kate was actively involved until we turned UP the music for dancing… and she promptly fell asleep. This afternoon, we’re going to have a little birthday party for Will so that he can open his presents from Nana, Aunt Amy, Uncle Kevin, and cousin Brayden.
We’re very sad that Nana Nancy has to leave tomorrow. But we are excited that our help is not stopping with her departure… we have a CLEANING SERVICE cleaning the house for the first time tomorrow morning!! It’s like Christmas!!