updaty type thing
Life has been chugging along at a remarkable clip. Living with olstad is lots of fun, but it also means we have a social life, something we didn't have much of in Maine, and generally have something going on every weekend. Being busy takes some getting used to, and we probably won't settle into a real routine until Stacey goes back to school.
Anyway, there are a few things I wanted to update about, but haven't found the time, so this will be a bit of a meta post.
First of all, we sold our house. It feels remarkably strange and a little unreal, mostly because selling a house is a very different, less involved process than buying a house. There aren't nearly as many decisions to make. Of course, we were also moved out before we started showing the house, which I imagine changes the feel a bit since we weren't notified every time someone wanted to look at the house and weren't constantly cleaning up and stuff. The sale itself was pretty pain free, and we got our asking price before it got cold, so all in all it worked out great. Three cheers for our agent who made sure we didn't pay for the heating oil left in the tank when we bought the house, and then made sure we were paid for it when we sold the house.
Second of all, Raine is becoming more and more like a little person and less like a baby all the time. She certainly qualifies as a toddler these days. Her hair has gotten really long and curly, but she doesn't like barrettes, so I finally broke down and cut her bangs about a week ago. The hair cut makes her look even older. She has also started playing let's pretend type games, which are very interesting to watch. She pretends to share her food with her stuffed animals, and also does things like put them in chairs or dance with them. A few days ago she sat down with a stuffed monkey, made the milk sign and then pulled up her shirt and put the monkey across her lap. I think we need to get her a doll...
Raine and Caleb have been getting along great. There is a sibling type element to their relationship (both the good and the bad) and sharing is hard at this age, but they generally are very happy to see each other and play together well. Caleb in particular is always concerned that everything be fair. If you give him a sippy cup, he immediately says/signs Raine and isn't satisfied until she has a sippy cup too. Both of them are learning signs and spoken words at an impressive clip. I can now imagine tapering off signs as the spoken words are easier for us (since we don't have to learn the words in order to teach them to Raine) but I do want to do sign with the next child and think that will be easier if Raine is still doing sign.
On the writing front, I haven't touched the new novel since we've moved. I've been a horrible slacker about my writer's group, and really want to turn something new in for October, just so I get back in the habit. I have been plugging away at revisions for the old novel, though. I sent out my first query letter to an agent earlier this month, and hope to have another letter go out before the end of the month. I'll be more comfortable if I have a synopsis written before that letter goes out, because the agency has a reputation for a fast turn around time on queries. If the response is positive I don't want to slow things down by writing my synopsis then.
Other than that, we are settling well into our new home. It feels very good not to be job hunting or moving.
Anyway, there are a few things I wanted to update about, but haven't found the time, so this will be a bit of a meta post.
First of all, we sold our house. It feels remarkably strange and a little unreal, mostly because selling a house is a very different, less involved process than buying a house. There aren't nearly as many decisions to make. Of course, we were also moved out before we started showing the house, which I imagine changes the feel a bit since we weren't notified every time someone wanted to look at the house and weren't constantly cleaning up and stuff. The sale itself was pretty pain free, and we got our asking price before it got cold, so all in all it worked out great. Three cheers for our agent who made sure we didn't pay for the heating oil left in the tank when we bought the house, and then made sure we were paid for it when we sold the house.
Second of all, Raine is becoming more and more like a little person and less like a baby all the time. She certainly qualifies as a toddler these days. Her hair has gotten really long and curly, but she doesn't like barrettes, so I finally broke down and cut her bangs about a week ago. The hair cut makes her look even older. She has also started playing let's pretend type games, which are very interesting to watch. She pretends to share her food with her stuffed animals, and also does things like put them in chairs or dance with them. A few days ago she sat down with a stuffed monkey, made the milk sign and then pulled up her shirt and put the monkey across her lap. I think we need to get her a doll...
Raine and Caleb have been getting along great. There is a sibling type element to their relationship (both the good and the bad) and sharing is hard at this age, but they generally are very happy to see each other and play together well. Caleb in particular is always concerned that everything be fair. If you give him a sippy cup, he immediately says/signs Raine and isn't satisfied until she has a sippy cup too. Both of them are learning signs and spoken words at an impressive clip. I can now imagine tapering off signs as the spoken words are easier for us (since we don't have to learn the words in order to teach them to Raine) but I do want to do sign with the next child and think that will be easier if Raine is still doing sign.
On the writing front, I haven't touched the new novel since we've moved. I've been a horrible slacker about my writer's group, and really want to turn something new in for October, just so I get back in the habit. I have been plugging away at revisions for the old novel, though. I sent out my first query letter to an agent earlier this month, and hope to have another letter go out before the end of the month. I'll be more comfortable if I have a synopsis written before that letter goes out, because the agency has a reputation for a fast turn around time on queries. If the response is positive I don't want to slow things down by writing my synopsis then.
Other than that, we are settling well into our new home. It feels very good not to be job hunting or moving.