"The Durbin Five"

This past week five noteworthy things occurred in the Durbin household that I decided were also blog-worthy. Here they are, in no particular order…

1) The local public library finally reopened—Our library has been under construction for the past year; they finally closed the entire place down in November in order to finish the inside renovation and rearranging. They reopened this past week, and with great anticipation Eric, Jack, Ellie and I made our first trip on Friday morning. It is beautiful. New furniture, large fireplaces, a huge winding staircase to the upper level, darling plush chairs for kids to sit on, a table with puzzles and other toys for the tots…the children’s area even has a short table (with tiny chairs!) with computers set up for games. Jack, of course, was immediately drawn to the computer with the Elmo game (it combines two of his loves: computers and Elmo—can’t beat that!). Just so you don’t think we are total nerds (even though deep down I know I am!), this reopening is a momentous event for us because it used to be a weekly thing to do, whether it was to check out new books, to return our (ahem) overdue books, to stock up on Sesame Street DVD’s, or just to let Jack have a place to run around and explore. As the winter months (and subsequent indoor play) have dragged on and on, we have missed having this outlet, and we are so very happy to have it back! I found myself saying over and over, “Oh! Books!”

2) Ellie learned to roll over—I realize this is a milestone that has occurred in most every child’s life, but it is still, nonetheless, exciting when it is your child. As exciting and cute as it is to find her on her back like a capsized beetle, flailing away and not sure what to do about it…it also means many interrupted naps and nighttime sleep. Oh well…at least I know Jack made it past this stage so I’m not too anxious about it.

3) We had a blizzard—You may have heard about us on the news for this one…it snowed here for almost 24 hours on Tuesday, and left us with over a foot of snow on the ground. It’s been beautiful, but also very, very cold, with temperatures close to or below zero all week. It snowed again last night, actually, and we woke up to about three additional inches. Jack has enjoyed it for the most part; he sure loves putting on his Buzz Lightyear boots! It’s funny to me when I stop and think about how absurd it is that we have so many accessories for each of us: hats, mittens/gloves, scarves, boots, warm coats, long johns, and a snowsuit for Jack…just to go outside. I guess that’s what happens when you grow up in the Midwest: spending 10 minutes just getting ready to go outdoors is normal.

4) I finished my first Sudoku puzzle—I discovered Sudoku in one of those in-flight magazines on our trip home from Boston last year, and then found another one in a newspaper a few months ago, and for the life of me I couldn’t complete it. I would get to the very last box and nothing would work right. It was driving me crazy. I finally purchased a book of Sudoku puzzles to give to my Dad, and as I was looking through it I discovered they had “helpful hints” at the beginning that gave some tips for how to attack them…and after reading this I finally, finally finished one—can I just tell you, internet friends, how amazing it felt?? I don’t know when I last felt that successful; it reminded me of my high school geometry class, when I would finally solve some big solution. Ahh, Sudoku…it does a stay-at-home-mom’s brain good. (Warning: while bringing immense satisfaction, these games are also addictive...I have neglected many household chores and other things on my to-do list as a result of my new Sudoku obsession...watch out!)

5) Eric and I went on a date sans children—After putting the kids down for bed on Friday night, Eric and I left the monitors with Rob and Janet and headed out for a Valentine’s dinner at Houlihan’s--our first date without kids since Ellie was born, and yes, it was heavenly! The food was delicious, and the conversation was much needed and good for my soul. At one point I half-sarcastically asked Eric, “So, what have you learned in our almost-five years of marriage?” Thankfully this question spurned much discussion and sharing and was immensely encouraging for both of us, I think. What a gift of an evening!