Pepco's customer service reps need a clue. I signed into my eBilling account to pay our latest bill and realized that only our previous account number at the old address was associated with it. So I look in the FAQ's to see how to add the new account number and it says to change any account information other than email and password, contact Customer Service. I call them and explain I am trying to add a new account number. First she tells me that I can't have a new address for my old number. I say no no, I don't want to add a new physical address to an old number, what I want to do is add the new number to the existing *online* account. She says oh no, you can't do that, you have to register all over again. Sigh. If I do that, I'll have to re-enter all of the payment and checking account information, plus I won't be able to access my previous account history.

But I go back to the site and start the registration process. On Step 3, it states clearly that you can add additional account numbers to an existing eBilling profile. Hmm. So this time, I log in, look around some more, and see the Add New Account link at the bottom of the page. Gee, guess what. I wish I'd gotten the rep's name so I could call her back and explain to her how to use her company's web site.

The amount of unpacking we have left to do has now been surpassed by the amount of clutter we are generating on a regular basis. Which is also roughly equivalent in volume to the amount of laundry produced daily by the baby, aka the Urp Factory.

I have several friends with whom I've now had longer contact virtually (mostly through email, with very occasional phone calls) than I ever had in "real" life. It's like having a pen pal, except I started off knowing them, and then became their correspondent, rather than the other way around. Guess it beats having friends you only meet in chat rooms.

Still unpacking ... Ken and his brother Kevin went out and bought yet another freezer yesterday. We discovered upon delivery that the first freezer we purchased was too big to fit through the basement door. Oops. Note to self: Measure first next time. Now we just need the electrician to come install a new outlet to plug it into.

Man About the House is currently outside, mowing the lawn with our newly purchased gasoline mower. The yard is just too big for our reel (push) mower. Blissfully, the weather the past few days has been decidedly Non August, cool and dry and sunny. Alas, summer returns this week.

We're down to the last 5% of unpacking. It's the final layer of "what the heck do I do with this?" and tchotchkes and wall hangings, plus a whole pile of stuff to haul off to the thrift store. Ken put up a bunch of shelving in the basement and rearranged the storage items so we can actually walk around down there now, which will allow us to determine which of *that* stuff we can haul off to the thrift store. Nothing like moving to make you confront your inner pack rat.

After nearly 4 months off, I'm happier to be back at work than I expected to be. Not only did I have a substantial amount of time to adjust to parenthood and just be with Julia, but it recharged my career batteries, too. (And showed my value to my workplace; absence makes the heart grow fonder.)

Now that I know what it's like to be a full time mommy, I can better appreciate my work persona. It's truly refreshing to have some time during the week to be with colleagues I like doing things I'm good at. And then when I come home, I can appreciate the time I have here. I'm lucky to have the balance. Then again, if I were a father and not a mother, none of this would be new or unusual, would it?

Officially moved and back online, after many phone calls to Verizon (DSL provider) and D-Link (wireless router manufacturer). We've actually managed to unpack quite a bit, despite the welcome interruptions of visitors (Anne & the Blumofe crew from Texas and Rob from Pennsylvania) and of course Little Miss Julia. I can't wait until the chaos is over, but already I love this house more than our old one. It just feels more like us. And we even have a neighborhood ice cream man! "Cool," the Good Humor man, comes around almost daily.

In other major developments, today was my first day back in the office. I will be working 4 days a week — 2 in the office, and 2 from home. It's been a smooth transition for me so far. I hope it has been relatively painless for Baby J as well. I know Dulce has been very sweet to her, but she has been forced to eat from a bottle which she has let us know she doesn't enjoy!