Apartment life has taking some adjusting to. For starters, it's so much brighter than our basement cave. It's also tons louder. There were a few nights and mornings I really wanted to yell at the motorcyclist in the parking lot that would putt putt around, revving his already WAY too loud engine every couple of feet or so. This picture of P was taken on one such morning. Poor kid was sleeping peacefully when the stupid motorcyclist started doing his "thing". It startled P pretty bad and he woke up looking around in a delirious state trying to figure out what was going on.
The outside noise is occasionally a problem, but the noise from the inside is what gives us fits with Dodger. Dodger is not used to having neighbors in such close quarters, so when he hears knocking on doors, or people shuffling by, he starts to growl and will sometimes burst into a fit of protective barking... if it's 3 am and someone is just coming inside. Although we immediately make him stop before he wakes up the baby or the neighbors, I am glad he knows that people out and about at 3 am is generally not a good/normal thing. For being a fluffy little guy that in reality is pretty harmless, he is a wonderfully smart and protective dog.
The smell, or should I say smells, are not much fun either. Cigarette smoke, body odor, dog poop, and oddly skunk, are the most common culprits. Thankfully our actual apartment smells like none of these - except by the kitchen sink. When we are doing dishes we get a strong whiff of cigarette smoke. Would this be from someone else washing their ashes down the drain? I honestly don't know. I just know it stinks. But other than that, the apartment itself is nice. It's just the building and the surrounding areas. There are big "grassy" areas between the buildings which look nice from a distance, but unfortunately they are almost entirely comprised of thistle plants. OUCH! Needless to say, we try to avoid the grass. Besides that, it appears that very few people follow the rules and clean up after their dogs. It's disgusting. Oh well, everything is temporary. And even though the buildings and grounds could use some work, I am happy with the apartment itself. It would be wonderful to have a different room for Pierscen, but it isn't horrible. He typically only wakes up once during the night. So beside the stifling heat (since the AC is only in the living room) we manage to sleep alright. :)
We go for lots of walks around the surrounding neighborhoods and enjoy time inside with Pierscen's play mat and play saucer. Although at times I feel like I am forgetting something (probably hundreds of demographics to be checked from work) it has been so nice to be home and to give myself to Pierscen. To be mom. I love it!
As I mentioned before, I allowed myself one day to pout and feel sorry for myself. The next day, I decided to jump in and get going. I had a whole list of things I wanted to get done. Granted, I was a little hestitant to do them all because I figured yes, it would keep me busy for a couple of days, but then what would I do? I did it anyway. The whole list. As for my worries that I wouldn't have anything left to do? Silly. I mean look at this post. It's the middle of August. I am still 2 months behind!
Anyway... here are a few of the things I managed to accomplish in those first couple of days.
- Got my Wyoming driver's license
- Registered the car
- Put new plates on the car
- Got a library card
- Opened a new bank account
- Got a pass to the Rec Center
- Put in some "applications" for a new pediatrician
That weekend was the NIC fest. (NIC Stands for the Nicolaysen Art Museum). My masseuse at Bamboo told me about it. It's located at, and around, the NIC. Artists, musicians, and vendors come and set up their booths to showcase and sell their work. I was pretty excited to go and support the locals. I was really hoping to find some art work highlighting the Wyoming landscape. They had all sorts of music, food, and artwork. I picked out a painting entitled "Snake River Autumn" by Dick Sorenson. If I had tons and tons of money, I would have bought the big "real" one instead of one of the reprints, but I was still pretty happy with it. I have tried to find his stuff online so I could put a decent picture of it on the blog, but I haven't had any luck. I took a picture of it, framed, with my phone, but it's pretty awful. Hurray for reflections. Oh well. At least you can kind of get an idea of what it looks like from this:
We gave Pierscen a teenie tiny taste and I think he was pretty impressed. He sure seemed to want more anyway. ;)
I also bought some gorgeous pottery called Fallen Leaf Pottery. Go to http://fallenleafpottery.com/index.html to check it out. I bought the "salsa and chips" one where the main dish is folded over on one side and a smaller "dipping" dish is attached. You can see a picture of it on the right hand side when the slide show first starts on the main page. Except mine is more of a sage color. Pretty much I love this stuff. I might save up to buy a piece one NIC Fest at a time. :)
House hunting began this first week too. We really just meant to look causally. Ryan was told by a real estate agent that there would be lots of houses coming up on the market during the summer months. We weren't necessarily in a big hurry, but it doesn't hurt to look right? (More on this subject to follow.)
Pierscen has been an absolute champ. He still wouldn't eat his rice cereal without washing it down every few bites, but progress is progress. He is as happy a child as I have ever met. Honestly and truly. He is so much fun! His incredible attitude as made this move and the post-op experience so much easier. We are so lucky to have him!
Sounds like you are settling in! Cute pics of your little man, he's so squeezable! As for the noise, get a box fan. They are great white noise, I used one in charlotte's nursery until she moved to a new room and blake uses it during the days when he works graves. Our kids scream all day and you can't hear them over the hum of the fan. Aw apartment life....the joys!
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