The Cricket, Part 2

Noel saves the day. Again. and Again. Gosh, I am grateful for a handy creative husband who understands the importance of killing a cricket that sounds like he is living under my pillow.

At midnight last night, after several attempts at searching and tracking down the cricket. (Did you know crickets don't chirp unless it is dark outside? Let me tell you, that makes it VERY difficult to track him down.) Noel even put the lamp underneath the bed in hopes that would at least shut him up, so we could sleep. (That didn't work).

After Noel went outside, sprayed the entire outside window with Raid and proceeded to take a shower because he was so covered with nasty chemicals, the cricket was still chirping.

At this point, I am lying in bed with a pillow over my face. Noel, super hearing combined with brilliance, decides to take the blinds off and open the window from the top. And there, THERE, of ALL PLACES, trapped between outside and inside in our window, was the cricket.

Thankfully he is now free to chirp in our backyard as much as he would like.

In terms of preparing for having a baby, I pretty much think I learned nothing. Complain and whine until your husband tries every possible solution to get the baby to be quiet? That's all I got on this one. At least I know what it is like to be awake every 2 hours because of something wailing/chirping/crying in my ear.

God is preparing us to have a baby by giving us...

A CRICKET!




We have a cricket in our bedroom. As you may or may not know, crickets are pea size, impossible to find, and make the loudest noises all night long. I am telling you, this cricket has got to be the soprano of his chorus, because he chirps this chirp that makes my shoulders rise to my ears and my eyeballs flinch in my sleep. At several points in the middle of the night I looked under my pillow to see if maybe he was there. It was THAT loud.

Noel and I both were awake at 1 A.M, 3 A.M. , and 5 A.M. swatting around the room with our pillows in hopes that by chance we would find him. We even opened the window, hoping we would hear him less with all his bros and sisters in the background. But no, he is living a little too close to our heads for that. We didn't find him, and instead I resorted to stuffing tissue papers in my ear (don't worry, I realize that won't work for the baby).

Alongside waking up every 2 hours to pee, I suppose this is good preparation.

Good thing our baby is going to be way cuter.

Charlottesville is a little lonelier

without my girls, Logan, Rose, and Jamie.




I blame Logan for the terrible habit I have of cooking way more than I should. I was always hoping she would show up and eat some of whatever random vegetable I found at the market that week. Nobody appreciates a white eggplant or a batch of beets as much as she does. And when I told Logan I was pregnant and the baby was the size of a lentil, she cried...there is nothing more special than that.
I am so JEALOUS of Greenville.




Rose and Jamie! To be in the same city as Rosepac was marvelous. If it weren't for her, I don't think I would have left the house when we first arrived in Cville. She shared all her friends with me and taught me the cool places to hang.

In the course of our short (and awesome) friendship, Jamie and I walked miles and miles. There is nothing like circling the stadium an extra time because we are not finished discussing who we can convince to watch Shrek 3 in the movie theatre.

Let's just say it's a good thing Richmond is only an hour away, and I already have plans to visit next week.

the to-do list

Everything I have been meaning to do for the last 25 years and still haven't done, and now that I am having a baby in less than 6 weeks, I really need to get them done:

- re-season dutch oven.

Noel insists that I need to take this off of my to-do list. I disagree. I am trying to be a foodie here, and I must have a working dutch oven in case I need to use it again (only been used once.)

-clean car.

There are still dead leaves from the fall on the floor of our car. Gross. I am trying to keep this baby away from germs, but I am pretty sure our car has the most germs of anywhere else we hang.

-read all the unread books on my bookshelf.

This is ambitious, but I don't care. I am afraid they will never get read. Ask Noel. I get into bed at around 9 pm to start reading, and he has to beg me to turn off the light.

-buy more socks.

Why do I insist that I can just keep wearing the same ones with giant holes in the heel? I have no idea.

-wash clothes.

This is always on the to-do list. Who doesn't have this on their to-do list? I would like to know your strategy.

-return random stuff from target that I bought several months ago and still haven't returned.

I know you all can relate to this.

-buy stamps.

I should probably quit mooching off of people, asking strangers outside near the mailbox for stamps as if they are cigarettes.

- pack hospital bag

Noel insists that this is the most important thing on the to-do list. Of course it is, but if one only has 2 pairs of sweatpants, how can I sacrifice one to the hospital bag just in case I go into labor. I don't know why I didn't think about this before. I am praying the baby gives me ample time to stuff toothbrush (only got one of those!), contacts, and other random assortment of things I might need before we rush off to the hospital.

-clean sofa cover.

It is disgusting. enough said.

-take shower.

Yes, it is satisfying to put this on a to-do list, because I know I can check it off in about 10 minutes. Boo ya.


(Sorry no pictures. I have been forgetting my purse at home a lot.)

Screen porch makeover

I did not take a before picture, because this makeover happened in record whirlwind time. For those of you who can imagine a screened-in porch that is all our many multi-color leftover rugs and every trinket I could not find a place for in the house all in one space, that is what it would be. Katie said, "It was so typical Noof, but this is even more Noof."

As she swept the dead leaves that had fallen off my plant (oy, I can not seem to keep anything green alive for very long), Carrie said, "We just can't let Alice Curtin one up us."

I am so grateful for my friends.





I know you want to come over and chill on our awesome porchhhhh.

Welcome to the world, Peter Christopher Clausen!

You are really freakin cute, and I can't wait until you are best buds with baby Stringham. Yes, I will buy you boys matching overalls. Love, your auntie Noof