Dreary Day

It's a dreary day here in Chapel Hill. The overcast sky and subdued lighting haven't done much for my mood, though the extreme difference in temperature is something to covet. It's actually manageable to get outside.
Not that I have much to do; or rather, much that I can do. My poor Subaru is still sitting in the drive, feeling neglected. I finally worked out a way to get her fixed, but must now orchestrate towing her to the mechanic's place in Durham, where she will linger for a few weeks while she gets fixed up. I can't wait to get that done, but for some reason have stalled on calling said mechanic and organizing a time to get her over there. Perhaps I am unthrilled with the idea of waiting on AAA to send a tow truck to me, which I then must follow to Durham.
There are plenty of errands to be run, but I am still somewhat intimidated by attempting to leave the house with Orion on my own, not to mention that my only available vehicle currently is Russell's old massive Expedition, which I have never driven. I'm not even sure how I'm going to maneuver the car seat in and out of the thing while I can barely maneuver myself in and out of it. I suppose I ought to get used to it... maybe tomorrow, if we don't get everything done today.
Not that Mr. Baby has let me do much today. He seems content to sleep until I attempt to do anything, including eat or take a bath. I did manage to actually get in the tub, but it didn't last long, woe is me! At least I don't smell so much like milk and spit up anymore. Ironic that there's no milk in the house (woe is me again; I'd love a bowl of cereal) but I manage to have milk all over me. Milk milk everywhere but not a drop to drink (for me).
Russell is out in Efland getting the Jeep looked at before the big beach trip this week. We're heading down to Ocean Isle for a week on the shore with his mom's family, who have rented a few houses in proximity to each other. I, for one, am looking forward to getting into the ocean in an extreme way. It's been way too long since I've been to the beach. You may recall that I planned on going the day Orion was born, but he had other plans.
At the same time I'm a little overwhelmed by the amount of stuff we'll need to pack for a beach week away from home with the baby. I have thought about it vaguely, but have yet to do a thing about it. Then I think forward to flying to Colorado and realize that I'm going to have to do it again, but with much more frugality, as I can't just throw whatever I want in the trunk. We may have to use disposable diapers on that trip, because I'm not sure I want to dedicate a suitcase to a day's worth of cloth diapers. They're great, but they're bulky.
Orion himself is a sweet baby who only gets cuter as he gets bigger. He makes some of the funniest faces and will stare at us with wide eyes when we mimic his looks. He has also become more adept with his hands, though he still doesn't know that they're his. He is grasping and holding things to his body quite a bit, however. He's also starting to sleep for longer periods at a time, which has been a blessing for me. Four hours is a huge improvement over two hours of sleep at a go; and he's getting confident enough that I can put him down to sleep in his bassinet for at least part of the night, which allows me to sleep more deeply. I am therefore experiencing better energy from day to day, though some days (like this one) still aren't the easiest and require several naps to navigate.
In other news, our turtle Toodeloo has gotten much bigger and has quite a voracious appetite. The day after one of the little neon tetra fish died and was replaced with two more, Toodeloo discovered a penchant for sushi. In any case, two of the three red and blue neons have disappeared, we're assuming down her gullet, and the third is missing pieces of her tail fins. Poor thing; I'm assuming she's the original one who was orphaned when her buddy died, and now she's the last of her kind. Both the orange neons (who are a little bigger) are apparently avoiding her advances, as well as the large silver tetra. I worry about the algae-eater, though, because he may be the largest fish in the tank, but he's also the most sedentary. I've watched Toodeloo scoping him out a few times - and we need him, as he helps keep the tank clean. Russell also experimented by giving Toodeloo some butter lettuce, which she dispatched forthwith, so perhaps her now omnivorous diet will deter her from making short work of the poor fish. She'll be all alone in there if she continues with her current buffet of friends.
And that's the state of things today. I hear the familiar rumble of a diesel engine in the drive, which means Russell has arrived...