In Maryland

Gussie in the airport watching Dumbo for the 451,568th time. He has watched it yet another 7,501 times between then and now and that was only 5 days ago.

Whenever we ask Gus to "smile!" for the camera he does this weird underbite smile thing. Here's Tim joining him in his weird grin. This is us at the Joe's Crab Shack right down from our hotel. The place is great because Gus can tear it up and nobody even cares. We especially don't care after a few much needed beers. House hunting is stressful, OK!?!?! Our hotel, the Courtyard Marriot in Gaithersburg has a ton of restaurants and stores around it within walking distance, plus a playground, places to feed lots of ducks, a Starbucks, in other words, it has everything. And there's a Target, thankfully, as we've been there every day. God I love Target. We initially were supposed to only be at the hotel through today, then we were going to stay with some friends of ours here, but they have a tremendous virus going around their house so we're staying at the hotel the whole time. I normally love hotels- maid and room service, I could live in one for all I care- but with a very, very active almost-3 year old and no yard for him to go nuts in, it's nothing short of torture for everyone. Thank god there are places within walking distance where Tim and I can get a few cocktails after a day of househunting.

This is the playground right by the hotel. It's actually part of the whole shopping/dining/entertainment complex. It's not very big but it's big enough to keep all of us sane. If you squint you can see Tim and Gus playing.

You know, my cousin Sam and his wife Anne have 3 kids and as Tim and I traverse this whole parenting/PCS/military thing, I think of them often and I wonder how they do it...or how they do it well. Gus seriously goes coocoo in the hotel. We try to give him physical outlets- swimming in the hotel pool, running outside, playing in the fountain, feeding ducks-and even in inappropriate ways such as jumping on the hotel beds/chairs/whatevers- but he still is borderline going insane so I can't imagine doing this PCS process with 3 children with 3 different and distinct needs. And the one fact that we can't get around is that we're loud. I mean, we talk loudly, play loudly, fight loudly....so I feel for our poor neighbors and it's constantly on my mind that we'e loud. I feel that if we we're out of the room then we don't have to worry as much about it, but in this instance we have to say "NO" less to Gus in the room than out so we tend to sometimes stay in more than out. Rock, meet Hard Place. Gus laughs loud and screams loud, god help them all- our poor neighbors. He's also doing this new thing when we decline a request which is scream at the very, very top of his huge lungs at an earshattering decibel. Dolphins can't even hear it, it's so high pitched and loud. But poor Gus is mostly doing really well riding in the car looking for houses for hours on end- and we finally set up the DVD player for him to watch (Dumbo) in the car- but the last day we drove around before we even got int he car he looked at us and said "I don't want to go in the car" in the saddest and most pitiful way possible. Every so often and out of the blue he'll say "I want to go home". Oy, I think this move will be hard. Maybe next PCS Tim or I will drive around and narrow down houses and the other can stay with Gus and do other non-stuck-in-the-car things. I don't know what the solution will be for leaving his friends :(.

As for the actual house hunting...well, it was ugly the first day. Since our house in PC shows no signs of selling we've pretty much decided to rent here instead of buy, though we may reassess in a year. On our first day, between 9:30 and 3:00, we looked at approximately 11 places in the Gaithersburg, Germantown, Potomac and Rockville areas. Ah, the joys of a realtor and GPS. Our realtor Lupe was recommended to us by all the guys that Tim will be working with here in Silver Spring. She's amazing and driven and nice and hard-working. We found 2 houses that might do...if they accept the dogs, that's the one factor our entire house hunting is based one....is there a fenced in yard or can one be negotiated, and will they accept 2 dogs...big ones. All other factors are non-factors at this point...except the place can't be gross, obviously. So! In no particular order, on our first day we looked at these places and they were hereafter referred to as:

-Nice Pool but Crappy House (it had a good pool but the entire house and yard was suspect, partially fenced)

-The Weird Fridge House (the house was great, bigger than we needed really, but had everything we required including a fenced-in yard, but they had redone the kitchen and didn't leave room in the kitchen for a fridge and so the fridge was in the dining room adjacent to the kitchen so it had no water for ice and wasn't even in the kitchen, it was also more than we really wanted to spend)

-The Smells Like a Dog House (had a great backyard but the house smelled like dog and appeared to have mold in the carpet in the downstairs bedrooms...dog smell can be gotten rid of, mold...not so much)

-Bad Floor House (the flooring in the house was lifted about 3 iches off the floor...who knows what else was wrong with it and that also explained why it had been on the rental/sale market for 351 days)

-the Doable House (a great house inside but with an incomplete fence in the back. We'd be willing to pay for a fence but right inside the front door was a laminated sign saying "Take Off Your Shoes Upon Entering" so we doubted they'd accept two big ole' dogs so we put this one at the bottom of the list and figured we'd beg if it came down to it)

-Kitty Cat Smell House (decent yard, weird house layout, small, overpriced, stinky smell like cats)

-Moldy Basement House (since half the bedrooms were in the basement...'nuff said)

-The 9 Acre House (well, we loved the location in the boonies and the 9 acres was great and the house was plenty big but it was very outdated and a little (lot) run down, however I was willing to consider it, but after we left Tim was so grossed out by it that he felt he had bugs walking all over him, so I guessed that house was out)

-Stonecutter (the name of the street the house was on...great house, absolutely no fence)

Two other places on our list had already been rented and two others didn't accept big dogs, only those under 20 lbs (aka cats). On our first day we basically saw every house at the top and semi-top of my list. So that was our first day house hunting! Needless to say, we had drinks when we got back to the hotel.

In the end and having looked at about 20+ houses in person since that first day, we've put in applications for rentals on the weird fridge house and one we refer to as the Rockville house, even though it's actually in Potomac. I doubt the Rockville house will work out- for a few reasons- but if we get the fridge house we'll consider ourselves very fortunate. Tomorrow we shall see, I guess.

All this nicknaming of houses has gotten us speculating what people that look at our house in PC call it. We suspect it's either the Far Away House or maybe The Beaver Pond House. We just hope it's not The Dog Smell House or the The Double Fence House (because we have our normal wood fence then another small area fenced off by chain link by the last owners and it's a little weird though can be useful).

Gus digs puzzles

His favorite one(s) for the last 2 months is actually an entire box of puzzles. My cousin Sam and his wife Anne always send Gus the neatest presents for Christmas, and last year or maybe the year before they sent this box from Korea where they were stationed (Sam is in the Army but we try not to hold that against him). The pictures are modes of transportation and Gus will sit and do the whole box.

If a tree falls on your house and no one is there to see it does it make a sound?

Apparantly, it does because we (Tim, Mom and I) all heard it at 7:00 this morning when it landed on the roof over the back porch. We thought it was just thunder as we'd been having tremendous storms all night. At least the damage wasn't too bad and it didn't knock out a window or cave in the roof in our living room. Left a decent sized hole, though. We're now adding "skylight" to our house listing. Who wouldn't want that in a house?



On an unrelated note, thanks to everyone that emailed me to say sorry about the miscarriage and congrats on our move to DC. I think I've mailed everyone back but just in case I missed anyone....thanks.

Play doh

We spend a lot of time playing with play doh. A lot. We have enough play doh accessories to last us a lifetime (the octopus is annoying and doesn't work and should be taken off the market. Do not buy).



This is what our sofa looks like on most days when K comes to play. Gus's friend Ireland was over to play this particular day. Note the exhausted Katherine on the sofa.

Somehow we've avoided serious injury though they've jumped on each others heads tens of times. This sectional is one of the wisest purchases we've made. When it's hot- which is pretty much all the time- this is what they do....jump x 10 and run from end to end. Night night Gussie!

We have orders in hand!

It's official.... Washington, DC here we come! Well, Maryland to be exact. Tim will be working at The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS). Whew! That's a mouthful. He's really excited about his job and while we're going to miss all of our friends here we'll be glad to be in a place that isn't so sweltering for the majority of the year. After being in a warm climate for so long- first L.A. then here- we have no winter coats, clothes, shoes etc so we'll have major shopping to do. I'm not even sure if I have any shoes that aren't flips flips or open-toed. I'm excited that Gus will get to see snow and Bear and Sundance are going home! Our poor dogs spend all year panting, now they'll get to swim in the icy Cheasapeake.

In a couple of weeks we'll be house hunting up there and trying to scout some schools for Gus. Our house here has been on the market for 2 months and it hasn't sold yet (but with my morning sickness the last thing we wanted was someone touring the house so maybe that worked out for the best). Shocking that it hasn't sold considering how excellent the housing sales market is right now. Heh. It remains to be seen whether we'll be renters or owners up there and whether we'll have to end up renting out our house here.

After the house hunting trip we'll do one more Disney World trip for Gus's birthday. We have seasonal passes so we might as well get our money's worth, and since we can stay at Shades of Green right by the Magic Kingdom for so cheaply the entire trip is ridiculously affordable, and the drive is only 5.5 hours.

See you in DC!

Hardt Family MIA

So where ya been? you may ask. Why no enthralling posts? Well, I was pregnant...Yay! Then I had a miscarriage...boo :(. And in between those 2 things I had horrendous morning sickness (a misnomer if I've ever heard one). Terrible morning sickness like I had with Gus... but worse. So I've spent the past month on the sofa or in bed. I finally went to the ER for fluids and was diagnosed with hyperemesis gravidarum. Good times! So the whole thing ended in a miscarriage at 10 weeks, midwife says most likely caused by a chromosomal abnormality (aka the usual cause of early miscarriage). Tim and I are fine and we'll start trying again once we get settled at our next base. All was not a total loss, however, as we hope to be much better prepared for me to be as sick the next time around. I held some hope that I wouldn't be as sick this time as I was with Gus (because you know each pregnancy is different! *blech* whatever!) but I harbor no such illusions that the next time around will be any better. That's ok, we'll be more prepared with help with Gus, with medications, IV fluids when necessary and maybe a high risk OB until the HG passes. Tim carried as much of the load by himself as he could-- he *is* The Best Husband In The Whole Entire World, you know- he cooked and cleaned and took care of Gus all the time for every second of every day except for putting him to sleep and he took him to swim and play with his little buddies and took care of me and worked a full time job- but the man was looking stretched thin by the end. I think we might have shaved a few years off of the end of his life. Next time we'll be hiring a team so that Tim can stay his youthful self.

So a big ole' thanks to my mom and Janie for taking such good care of Gus (and me) when I was sick, and thanks to Katherine for filling in the spaces when they couldn't be here. And thanks to Deb, Bre and Ilka for continuing to call me even though I never answered the phone.

What's a housefrau blog without a recipe?

So Gus likes lots of things- trains, swimming, dumping his drink on the floor when he's done with it- but one thing he doesn't care all that much about is food (except for birthday cake). However, he pigged out on Janie's chicken recipe for days on end. She even had to cook it twice because he kept on asking for "patsa"(pasta). So, I thought I'd share said recipe with you all. It's from her church's cookbook. I knew there had to be something heavenly about it! (har har)

Crock Pot Chicken
8-10 boneless chicken tenderloins
1 stick butter
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg. ceasar italian dry dressing mix
1/4 c. white cooking wine
1 pkg. cream cheese (you heard me!)

Place chicken breasts in crock pot first. Then add all ingredients. Cook on low for about 6-8 hours. Stir only once during cooking. Pour over favorite cooked pasta- bowtie or spiral work well.

Above is a pic of Gus practically shoveling it in his mouth.

If you try this out, let me know how it tastes!

New Lens/Waterfalls

I got a new lens for my camera and had the opportunity to play with it a little when Gus and I went to visit our friends the Marenos in Tullahoma, TN. We went hiking to 2 different waterfalls. It was big fun and Gus totally digs waterfalls right now so he had a blast. He could throw rocks in the water all the live long day. It's evident that I still have a lot to learn about my camera- that I've had for 3 years now LOL. Apparantly, the manual that came with the camera contains quite a bit of helpful information on the operation of the camera itself! Who knew?!?! Thanks to my friend Georgia for the lens recommendation....only 84 bones, you can't beat that!

Daniel, Bre, Gus and David

BFFs

Gus and Kailey have been Best Friends Forever since they first started playing together- Gus was 4 months and KK was 6.5 months old. We first met K and her mom Katherine at our breastfeeding group (aka Boob Group) when Gus was only 3 weeks old. They've barely gone a week without playing together at least once. In fact, most weeks we see them more days than not. Gus and K have so many little routines and their own language. Their favorite activity involves shedding as many clothes as possible and climbing all over our huge sectional sofa, then piling all the cushions on the floor and jumping on each other and the pillows in the most painful looking ways imaginable, all the while gut-laughing maniacally. We've offered to just adopt K but her mom and dad won't go for it for some reason. It's going to be a sad, sad day when we move and don't see them all the time. Every morning after Gus wakes up, practically the first thing he says is "KK's house" or "KK come play?" and K says "Gus my home". It's going to be v.v. sad when that request can't be fulfilled.

THEN

NOW

Cheers!

A kiss on the elbow

The Fishing King

Recently, we visited my mom at her house at Ono Island in Orange Beach, AL. Gus went fishing for the first time and caught this huge whopper of a fish.

I still had to take it off the hook.

But Gus got to help throw it back in the water.

Is this thing on?

In an effort to keep everyone informed of our comings and goings- and of our moves all over the country- we're joining the ranks of bloggers. It will hopefully also reassure the grandparents that they're getting The Very Most Current Pictures of Augustus that exist. Our blog will probably be picture heavy and word light. As of now we don't have orders to our next PCS but we expect to get them soon... however, we're not holding our breath, if we were we'd be long dead from asphyxiation.