Dana Daily

There are adventures and there are misadventures. Last night was a misadventure; so much so that I couldn't even begin to find the humor in it until this morning, and even now it's not that funny. Seth and I were hanging out upstairs in the living room when I heard what sounded like a waterfall below is in the basement. Sal was down there working on bracing some of the walls he had framed. I chose to ignore what I had heard, until Sal came upstairs and told me we needed to call an emergency plumber. I asked what happened.  He informed me that in the process of trying to stand the wall up, it became wedged in the water main piping and ultimately snapped the pipe. I ran downstairs to check it out. I tried turning the valve off without success and assumed that it had broken before the shut-off valve meaning there was no way to stop it. While Sal held the pipes together with his bare hands, I called plumbers and the township to have the water shut off at the street. ...

Sal and I had a trip to the Grand Canyon and Arizona as a whole planned, but when we priced airfare it was ridiculously expensive (around $430pp r/t). With a mortgage and daycare that is expensive as some peoples' mortgages, we just can't swing it. So, we started looking at other options. We can fly roundtrip to Ft. Lauderdale for less than $800 total. This is a no-brainer. Let the planning begin. Summer flight deals haven't been released yet though, so we could end up somewhere else completely.

Today was Seth's second birthday party. We invited Grandma and Pop-Pop, Auntie Em, William, and Anthony, and Aunt Kathy and Uncle Ron. Although we didn't, who would have thought it would be gorgeous enough to grill outside. Temps in the high 60s added to the party atmosphere. I ordered Seth's bus cake from Lisa O'Connor, the same lady who made his first birthday cake last year. I decorated the table with a black table cloth and used yellow duct tape to create yellow "lines" to mimic a highway. The girls were quite impressed. Seth's favorite gift, I think, was an activity bus from Aunt Kathy and Uncle Ron, but he also received a bus puzzle (from Auntie Em), and a fire truck (from Grandma and Pop-Pop). Sarah and Emmy also gave him gifts; a palm size bus and firetruck (bottom right pic), and puffs, respectively. He loved everything. It was a seriously fun party.

Today is Seth's last day of his second year. Tomorrow he turns two. What a year it's been. Seth took his first plane ride (to Disney World). Even if he was old enough to remember it, he wouldn't. He slept from gate to gate on both legs. Seth has found the best way to annoy his sisters is to call each of them by the other's name. Seth loves to climb. It's not unusual to find him on top of the dining room table. Seth loves to be outside, in any kind of weather. Seth counts to 10, and says "10" with quite a lot of enthusiasm. Seth is working on his colors, and the only one he gets correct 100% of the time is pink. Seth is hilarious. The things he says, his looks, his antics. He's just funny. He's also so sweet. I can't wait to see what this next year brings. So many new adventures.

I'm working from home tomorrow so Sal had my valentine's day treat sent to work today. Shari's berries. . .it's embarrassing how many I've eaten already.

If Sal, Seth, and I were elephants, this is what we'd look like.