Y'all are very wise, though I am still looking at the 30-40 lbs. of laundry and sweating at 70 cents a pound. And we'll never be caught up, not unless we someday get a washer/dryer in our building.

I've been thinking about writing a (very, very polite) letter to the landlady and her son, who is taking over the building from her. We have five units: one with a toddler, us with Emmett (and hopefully another within the next year or so), one with a grandson who lives there at least half-time, and one disabled man who has tremendous difficulty navigating our twisty staircase. And we've got two storage rooms and an alcove on the ground floor. There's space, there's need, and I'm certain that if she wanted to invest in a washer/dryer for the building it would not only make our lives easier but increase the value of the units. I have no idea if there's an ADA compliance issue, but I can't imagine that laundry for Pete is anything but an ordeal.

Lily! Gorgeous! Yay!

i'm also pondering the laundry-by-the-pound paradigm. At present we have washer/dryer hookups but not the actual machines and it'll be a few weeks before we bridge the gap. Meanwhile, I think we're gonna have to keep wearing clothes, alas.

Sorry about the planned booty call not working, Erin.

Congrats, Kristin! How very exciting!

Gonna go get bagels now, then unpack unpack unpack.

I have pondered the laundry by the pound, but I do have washer/dryer in teh building (though they require quarters!) and usually I just suck it up and go, figuring taking the laundry somewhere else would require nearly as much work.

OK. It's almost 10AM. I need to pack, and clean my house. And check when I have to leave here to catch teh bus to the airport. I think around 2pm. Um.

we've dropped $50-60 on laundry. There are few other things that I feel are worth it. (food and drink being exceptions)

Or you can divide the difference. Drop off half, and wash the other half yourself.

Gonna go get bagels now, then unpack unpack unpack.

So much more fun than pack pack pack.

OK, Imma get busy on my chores and laundry now.

t Random

Oooh. Wool cape on sale. I point this out in the spirit of civic-minded helpfulness, already myself having (a) a swirly black cape and (b) Too Much Debt and therefore being completely unable to take advantage of this, but it seems that some Bitch somewhere should snag one of these.

t /Random

Lily is beautiful.

My back is much, much better. Basically, it's only stiff and sore now, but I'm still trying to take it easy and not rush back into normal activities for fear of re-injury. We decided to wait till Monday on lifting Annabel, for example, to make it a trial run of whether it's OK for DH to go back to work Tuesday.

Any advice from people who've had this on what to be careful NOT to do at first?

I'm going to start backing down on the drugs--necessary if I plan to drive anytime soon. Today I'm going from Tylenol 3 every four hours to every six, and if that doesn't seem to cause a problem, tomorrow I'll make it every eight.

Oh, and my allergies are flaring up--is there any reason I can't take Claritin (just plain claritin, not claritin-D) with Tylenol 3 and Flexeril?

I did the pay by the pound laundry thing when I lived in Atlanta and had a new puppy and fucking insano working hours. It was a stretch, I was really living on a shoe string, but as a sanity-saver it was worth every dime.

Which reminds me, I need to take the dry cleaning in this morning if I want to be decently clad next week.

Oh, JZ, that is LOVELY! I have major want. Alas, I also do not have the need or the cash, so I shall let it go...

t sniff

I have no words for the loveliness of Lily. Those pictures make my heart go ka-thump in a swoony kind of way. She is SO beautiful, as is her mama.

JZ, if you hauled the clothes to the laundromat and washed them yourself, how much would you spend in quarters? How much more than that would the drop-it-off laundry cost? I bet not a whole hell of a lot. Just do it, and be freed from it so you can spend time with your two guys, once they wake up.

Susan, you can take claritin with Tylenol 3 and flexeril, no problem.