Memorial Day weekend

Before I talk about the Memorial Day weekend, I am going to brag about our foraging success. A while ago I found a couple of mulberry trees in the neighborhood, but they didn't have many berries. So I started paying better attention to the surroundings whenever I'd go on a walk with Mark. And finally I found a path, a greenway by the art museum, along which grow dozens of great mulberry trees. So one weekday morning, before Chris's job interview, we went on a walk together and picked a couple of pounds of mulberries in less than 30 minutes.

My friend Eleonora was here for the Memorial Day weekend. She finally got a plane ticket and came here all the way from Florida. We didn't do much though because, as luck would have it, I got sick. Still, it was great to see her and to spend even just a couple of days with her. What we did was going on walks in the park and at the mall, the Farmer's Market and the flea market. And we took her foraging - to pick mulberries and strawberries.

Mark is growing. I don't remember if I mentioned that he got 2 molars already. There might be more on the way because he is very cranky. He's turning out to be quite a character! Very strong-willed and stubborn! But he has a good sense of humor too. For example, when he tries to do something he's not supposed to, I tell him "Нет! Нет! Нет!" You'd think that would work, right? No way! Instead, he turns to me with a sly smile and says in the same stern tone "Да! Да! Да!" He also learned to kiss over the last week. Now he kisses his toys and me, not so much his daddy though. He finally sleeps through the night - 10 hours straight! And he is at the point where he knows when it's bed time and he insists (!) on being put to bed.

Still doesn't walk independently, but he spends a lot of time learning about his toys and everything else around him. I think he's more of a contemplative type and an observer. Although he enjoys roaming around and pushing and pulling large toys and pieces of furniture. Yesterday he walked clear across the shopping plaza and into a book store where he browsed for a bit before heading out. That was a long walk! He likes sorting toys and putting them into boxes and bags. He also now likes taking the lids off of containers and putting them back on. His latest toy is a noise-maker set (a drum and some rattles) and he REALLY enjoys it.

Artsplosure 2008

This was a busy weekend. I guess, everyone tried to get their events out before the Memorial Day weekend because there were tons of things happening around Raleigh. In addition to the chicken tour, there was a festival at the Yeats Mill, a tour of homes, a tour of gardens, and the Artsplosure 2008. Last year we missed the Artsplosure festival because Mark was too little. This year we went.

Artsplosure is a big arts and crafts festival held in the city center, on Moore's Square, every year. It takes place over the entire weekend. In addition to artists and craftsmen presenting their work for everyone to see and buy, there are concerts, events for kids and adults, etc. We walked around a little bit looking at the artwork. We liked a lot of it, but unfortunately couldn't afford most everything. We did splurge on a couple of things. One was the silhouette of Mark done by Keith Donaldson (http://www.icutyouout.com/). By the way, he can do silhouettes from profile photos and mail the finished artwork to you. We also watched a pottery demostration - amazing stuff!

The other item was a 8x10 photo, called "It's Time to Glaze the Donuts" by Lorri Honeycutt. She is a photographer from Austin, TX. She's a very pleasant lady, very creative, and with a great sense of humor. I'm not going to try to describe her work, but you can see for yourself at http://www.bigworldphoto.com/ . Hopefully, as our circumstances improve, I'll be able to buy some more of her very original work.

The last picture is of Mark asleep in the car on the way back from the Farmers' Market. As you can probably tell, he had one too many strawberries there :)

Chickens in Avent West

Avent West is our neighborhood and it's a very nice one! And I am not saying just because we are trying to sell the house. Actually, we'd prefer not to sell it and are keeping our fingers crossed. But that's another story... Back to the neighborhood though - I think I already mentioned that it's close to the downtown and to NCSU and to all the cool places. The neighbors all know each other. Most everyone is pretty laid back. There are lots of kids of all ages. Most people grow vegetables in their yards. And now we found out that some people even have chickens!

We went on a cleverly-named "Hen-side the Beltline - Tour de Coop" today for a couple of hours. So we visited 4 houses, or rather yards, since we didn't go inside the houses proper, whose owners keep chickens. Why do they do it? Presumably for fresh eggs, but also - for the fun of it. Apparently, chickens make pretty good pets (probably smarter than our cat). Mark didn't care much for the chickens, but he liked the dogs and cats.

Then we went to the mall just to kill time. You see, we had an open house today, so we had to get out of the way for a few hours. At the mall Mark tried several kiddie rides. He did ok, but was getting tired and sleepy-looking. When we got back home, we found out that he was actually sick, running a fever. We think it's a reaction to the shots he got last Thursday. But he's much better already! Oh, also, he's got a brand-new tooth. So now he has 7 teeth. And although he didn't gain much weight - still under 20lbs - he grew 2 inches in the last 3 months! And he's learning to climb the stairs.

Time Flies When Having Fun

... and now we have fun almost every day, except when Mark decides to be cranky. Chris goes to work and Mark and I stay home and go about playing with all our old toys and some new ones. The game mostly consists of throwing the toys around. But then there's the crocodile walker - now that's different! Sure it makes noise as you push it, but more importantly, it lets Mark walk on his own (read - Mommy gets to do things around the house). So we absolutely love this toy! Too bad it only occupies Mark for a few minutes at a time. Good thing we also have a cat that can be chased after, pulled by the tail, and scratched behind the ears...

We also go on walks - around the neighborhood, to the little park, to the playground, and to the big lake. The big lake is great because, well, it's big - lots of sand, water, dogs, ducks, babies of all ages...

On the days that we have a car, we go to a library, to a toy store where they let kids play with all the toys, to the ice-cream shop, and to other exciting and novel places...

And on the days when we are stuck indoors because it's raining and we don't have a car, we invite friends over for playdates. Last Friday we invited Louis and Maeli to check out our cool toys. Now we can't wait for the weather to really warm up so we can have pool playdates as well...

Catching Up

I just realized that I forgot to write about my parents' visit. Actually, they were here a couple of weeks ago and as usual, their visit was too short - just a day and a half. This time my brother was here too and he stayed a bit longer - for another day. Since it was so long ago, I don't remember exactly what we did. But I'm certain it included a lot of cooking by both me and Mom, lots of playtime for Mark, several long walks, a visit to the Farmers' Market, and ice-cream.

No more Chinese food

Ugh, how many times do I have to re-learn the lesson for it to really set in? Never ever, under no circumstances, will I ever eat cheap Chinese food at malls' foodcourts. It's so horrible! Same goes for the fake Japanese food which is basically the same exact stuff.

Anyway, it's the Mother's Day and Chris baked cinnamon buns for me (what can I say - yummy!!!). Since the weather sucks today, we went to the mall for a walk and a change of scenery. And now Chris took Mark for a stroll outside and the rain is really coming down!

Anyway... Mark turned 15 months old last week. He's growing another tooth, #7. We continue working with the physical therapist and so far things are going very well. Last week Mark learned to kneel and go from sitting to kneeling. More than that, he now can pull himself up to standing. Better yet, he learned how to crawl! His preferred method of locomotion is still scooting on his behind or cruising. He's in this phase when he likes walking while pushing things - a stroller, a cart, a chair, anything really. Which is great because otherwise he refuses to walk independently and insists on holding onto us.

The house is still up for sale and we only had a handful of showings. It's very irritating since I have to clean up every night and straighten things up billion times throughout the day. Oh well, we'll see how it will all turn out. So far we've scheduled an open house for next Saturday - more cleaning!

Little House! House for Sale!

Yes, we've finally put our house up for sale (sad face goes here). The copy, penned by yours truly, goes a little something like this:

"A beautiful transitional Cape Cod in a highly-desirable neighborhood INSIDE the Beltline. Walking distance from parks, playgrounds, and one of the nation's top elementary schools. Easy access to I-440 and I-40, downtown Raleigh and NCSU, this charmer is quite possibly the best buy in town. Come in to see the many upgrades - new kitchen with semi-custom maple cabinets, quartz countertops, and stainless steel appliances (all convey), built-in bookshelves in the large office (which can be used as a 4th bedroom), smooth ceilings, hardwood floors throughout the house, gorgeous gas fireplace, all rooms newly painted. Energy-saving upgrades - all new energy efficient windows and a sliding door, sealed crawlspace, compact fluorescent lights throughout, efficient shower heads and toilets - will save you $$ on utility bills. Outside, a newly-landscaped front yard adds to this home's curb appeal while a large three-tiered deck in the fenced backyard provides plenty of room for entertaining."

If you don't feel like dropping everything, calling our realtor, and coming to see the house, you have a heart of stone! Or maybe you are wise enough to resist a nicely-written copy. Well, then here are the pictures. So here's the quick tour:

The living room - notice the painted brick fireplace and neutral, yet warm color-scheme.

The family room - built-in bookcases and vibrant cheerful colors. The closet was converted into a convenient home office.

Master bedroom - tropical and cool with a nice reading nook (I wish I had more time to read!)

Mark's room - we used the leftover paint from the master bedroom, then added some stripes on one of the walls; painted and organized the closet.


The bathrooms - painted and accessorized.

The kitchen - all new! That was a huge pain in the butt project!

More pictures, including the BEFORE pix of every room, are on Facebook.

OMG

OK, I can't believe I haven't been posting for almost a month. This is totally getting out of hand! But we've been terribly busy getting the house ready for sale. And Mark is not making it any easier for us either. He's being a handful, an adorable handful.

So here's a quick update. Yes, we're still selling the house. We haven't put it up for sale yet (even though we originally planned on doing it on 16 April, right after the tax deadline). But we're still getting it ready - all the annoying little projects and trying to get rid of all the junk we've accumulated in less than 2 years. So we're very active and successful on Craigslist.com and donating stuff left and right. When the house is finished, I'll post pictures and maybe even a short clip.

Hey, guess what - we sold Mark's crib! Yes, it was simply not working out for us. And he hated it too. So long, crabby crib. Now we're trying the Montessori approach - we bought a twin mattress and put it on the floor in Mark's room. We only did it a couple of days ago. So he hasn't slept there yet, but we're working on it. At least he doesn't mind sitting there and playing unlike with the crib. We're down to 2 nursings a day and even down to 1 on good days. And he now naps a couple of times a day for about an hour each time; that's really nice!

We're working with the phys. therapist. So far we've only had 2 sessions, but Mark's already learned how to sit up from laying down on his back or on his tummy. That's huge! He also walks very well holding just 1 finger. He could totally stand and walk on his own, but he refuses to. That's ok, we'll work on his confidence too. He babbles all the time - very talkative. Most of it is nonsense to us, except for some very distinct ones - "eto", "mama", "dai", "da", "na" - all Russian and all appropriately used. He understands a lot of things now, especially "no" which he utterly ignores while grinning ear-to-ear.

New things he started doing now - holding 1 hand, he can bend over and pick up an object. He can dump objects out of a container and then put some of them back (he's been doing that for a while). He "reads" his picture book by pointing to different objects in it, saying "eto", and waiting for me to name it. And he tries to feed himself from the spoon. Actually, he absolutely insists on feeding himself, which is very funny to watch - he either stabs the food with the spoon or drags the spoon across the surface of the bowl and then puts it into his mouth. Feeding times get messier and messier.

Asheville, NC

Last Friday we felt especially fed up with our current situation and in need of some R&R. And since we always wanted to go to the mountains, we saw this as a great opportunity for a little weekend get-away. The plan was to drive to Asheville on Friday and come back on Sunday. Easy enough... Well, as usual, the experience was nothing short of enlightning since amoung the things we learned was:

1) You get what you pay for - ok, so it's an old one. But we always hope to beat the system, to stick it to the man, to get the deal, to pinch pennies, to earn a buck by saving a buck. In the end, we end up checking out of a truly crappy and not especially cheap hotel room and checking into a slightly more expensive, but much nicer hotel room. And in between these events, there's a "your call is very important to us"-fest as we're attempting to get full refund for the cancelled night at a crappy hotel.

2) It ain't gonna rain no more, unless... - well, NC is in extreme draught right now. Local weather man here in Raleigh has been promising rain for a few months now, but the damn mother nature just wouldn't cooperate. The most we got out of these forecasts were some light sprinkles lasting 15 minutes or so. So we didn't bother to check the forecast or to pack rain jackets. And that's when it rained! Apparently, when the man in front of the weather map in Asheville says it'd rain, he means it. Hmm... So, on Day 2 we did buy an umbrella. Of course, it stopped raining right away. But now if you see a couple walking under a huge red umbrella with "Biltmore" logo on it, you'll know it's us.

3) Biltmore Estate is awesome even in bad weather! Sure, we had to take turns walking around the castle itself. One of us would stay with Mark and the other one would madly dash through the rooms while listening to an audio tour. Then we'd switch. And sure, there were lots and lots of stairs and not enough ramps both inside the house and on the grounds of the estate. And sure, it was cold and rainy most of the time. But it was still AWESOME! I just wish we had enough time for the "behind the scene" tours. One of these tours takes you into the rooms closed to the general public and then up onto the roof. And the other tour shows the electro-mechanical contraptions that helped power and run the estate.

4) Cold, rainy mornings in early spring can be absolutely enchanting. The Blue Ridge Parkway is empty. As we stop the car and turn its engine off at one of the many observation points, we realize how totally quiet it is all around us. Thick fog drifts up the mountains and we can't make out where does the fog end and the milky white sky begins. Yet the views of the valley are clear and we can see all the little houses down there. And a faint sweet smell of early blooms is drifting over it all. I'm sure summer and fall are gorgeous up in the mountains. But turns out, the in-between-season is not bad at all!

And to top it all off, we had some really good barbeque, North Carolina-style. I don't ever eat BBQ because it's pork, but at the Barbeque Inn they had the chopped beef option. And boy, was it yummy! Mark loved it too, almost as much as riding on a pig. And the day we got to Asheville we were walking around the downtown and saw quite a lot of interesting food places. Unfortunately most were very busy. So we settled on the Mellow Mushroom pizza place (not to say that it wasn't good). The cool part was that inside the restaurant they had all sorts of fun sculptures, including a huge carved bear. So on his trip to Asheville, Mark got to ride on a pig and on a bear.

More Pictures from NY Trip

Aunt Irina (без кактуса) and Mark


Most of the stuff happening at the grandparents' house happens in the kitchen. So it's a good place to be.


Another good place to be is at someone's house if this someone has a small child (tons of toys!!!) and that child is not in the house at the moment (say, spending a day with her own grandparents).


All play and no work can be very tiresome.


A family portrait, on a budget. What are we going to do when my brother gets married and we can no longer fit on one couch?


Ok, it's been fun, but Dad, let's go home!