House update

How are you?

Things again are crazy.  We are still trying to unpack from moving houses.  It’s difficult to get ahead without taking time off because there are all the normal things to do – laundry, baths, dishes, cooking, shopping, sweeping.  It leaves little time to cut into the bulk of moving chores.

We did finally sell out new house.  It wasn’t on the market very long, but we had to lower the price quite a bit.  We are supposed to close in a few weeks.  We’re really not making any money on the sale, but not losing any either, so I should be glad about that.  Oh and even though they new buyers don’t actually own the house yet – the tested paint samples in the kitchen.  Can you believe that? 

 I don’t quite feel like I belong at the new neighborhood yet.   I miss the schoolyard to walk down to with the kids or the park.  I miss chatting with neighbors in the evenings when we are outside and P works late.  Those are things about the neighborhood I miss, rather than the house.  I liked my old dishwasher better.  The front door is faded purple and I need to take care of that ASAP. 

The new house is very nice.  Laundry is so easy with the laundry room off of the garage.  No more racing up and down two flights of stairs.  The pantry is great – I can see what we have and keep the counters less uncluttered.  There are so many windows and we get so much more natural light.  The kids having their own bathroom with their bath toys is wonderful.  No more slipping on toys in the shower.  The linen closet is huge and I don’t have to stuff towels and sheet in there haphazardly to make them fit.  It’s great to have a kitchen island.  I don’t have to make a left turn at a crazy no-light intersection to get to daycare. 

Things are coming along.  I’m grateful for the opportunity to live in such a nice house.  This summer I hope I can meet some little friends for V.  IT’s difficult to break into established social groups.

I found this meme on a few blogs () and From Jamie at www.tatertwins.com decided I wanted to play along.




What were you doing 10 Years Ago?
10 years ago I was in living in the UK with my husband. We were taking super fun trips around Europe and preparing to move back to the US the coming summer. Childless. Our hobbies were so fun – hiking, cooking, reading, aerobics, travel. Siiigggghhhhh.


What 5 things are on your to do list?
Finish setting up V’s bedroom
Take back the returnable cans and bottles (Major $$ here in MICH)
Enroll V in karate
Schedule my colonoscopy/endoscopy (its been 4 years )
Find a babysitter so I can actually go on a date with my husband!

What are 5 snacks you enjoy?
Baked lays
Bananas (esp with peanut butter)
Trail mix
Popcorn
Cheese cubes

Name some things you would do if you were a millionaire.
Work out every morning with a personal trainer
Have massages every.single.day
Buy a house in a tropical climate (should be a multi-millionaire).
Get a tummy tuck/mommy makeover
Buy a baseball team

Name some places you have lived.
Not that many….

Alpena, MI
Canton, MI
Mt. Pleasant, MI
Flint, MI (the worst )
Cubbington, UK

Name some bad habits you have.
 Not wiping down counters
 Piling clothes everywhere
Apologizing too much
Keeping a messy, disorganized, dirty car
Yelling at my daughter

Name some jobs you have had.
Ice cream scooper (very hard on the wrists)
Server/waitress at Polish style weddings
Phlebotomist
Kmart domestics/fashions associate
Medical Technologist

Ear Infection - Take Three

Mr Benny ( yes, we do call him that) was acting strangely last weekend.  He has been sleeping well for the last two weeks, up two or three times a night.  I usually get up and feed him once and try to ignore him the rest of the times.  I’m still awake though L.   He started shaking his head vehemently and pulling at his ears.  No fever.  This kid NEVER gets a fever when he is ill.  I’m not sure why.  It’s abnormal and weird.   I took him to daycare Monday and then he coughed a lot all night long and had me up 3+ times.  P was going out of town Tuesday- Thursday so I took his sister to daycare and him to urgent care.  We waited three hours.  UGH.  The ear I thought was infected was infected and so was the other one which was worse.  Poor little guy L  I got his amoxicillin filled and took him home.  He seemed worse the next day, would hardly eat or drink.  I kept him home again and he slept for 5 hours.  Only on me.  With me holding him.   I was like a zombie.  The next day I took him back to daycare and he seemed fine.  This is the 3^rd ear infection he has had.  I think tubes are in his future.  If I could get an actual appointment at his regular pediatric group, maybe we could discuss it!

Oh to top off the crappy week, V started projectile puking Wednesday.  All over the carpet.  Dear Lord, help us.  Very craptastic week!

This kid!

Almost 10 months old!

Friday Night Leftovers - the About me Edition

• I miss exercise so much. So, so much. I walk at lunch and do stairs for 40 minutes a few times a week, but it isn’t cutting it. Between the baby sleep strike of 2013 and moving, it’s been pushed to the back burner. I want to lose 7 lbs so my clothes fit – leftover baby weight. And firm up my crazy midsection. I guess I could get up at 5:00 am and get to the gym or basement, but sleep is such a priority lately. I feel terrible about myself and my self image.
• Another one of my-in-short-supply teeth has went bad. The long time in braces has added to the decay. I went to have a filling and after 8 shots, it just wouldn’t numb up most likely due to the nerve injury from my prior surgery. My face was in pain for DAYS. They decided to do a root canal and after 9 shots (two in the tongue – horrible), the Endodontist ended up drilling a hole in the tooth and injecting the lidocaine directly in. The pressure was immense, and then went dead. I could feel very minor discomfort. It was easier than the filling! Did you know a root canal is $1000? Plus at least another $800 for the crown? Wow. I may need 6 more.
• My geneticist has been on me about having another colonoscopy/endoscopy. It’s been almost four years. Yikes. I’ve been putting it off. When am I supposed to fit this in?
• Where do you buy clothes? I tend to go to Kohl’s or Marshall’s because it is convenient, but I really love and wear the most often the things I get at the Gap. They are plain (I like plain) and tasteful. I wish there was an outlet closer to me. Where else is good for clothes? Most of my clothes are getting so worn out. I realized the other day I’ve had some of my dress pants for 8-10 years. I hate buying pants. And bras. And shoes. It is so, so difficult to find shoes I like and that are comfortable and decently priced. Someone help me.
• Lots of whining and complaining. Long term sleep deprivation will do that do a person. Oh yes it will!

Funny

My husband has been putting V to bed when he is home for bedtime. Someone has to lie down with her and read to her, then hang out in bed with her and snuggle until she falls asleep. Daddy is really good at this and she looks forward to this time. Lately, I’ve been joining them in bed (she has a big double bed – I highly recommend), and hanging out with them. My husband found this cool Disney short called “the Paperman” – and we’ve been watching in on the IPhone. She knows that daddy works and is a “boss”. In the short, the boss brings the man paper. “daddy, do you bring people paper?”. “No, not really”. So cute.

New House

So as you may or may not know, we bought a new house. It was kind of crazy how we found it. We went and looked at some in a three community area. We were looking for something bigger, a bit more wooded, close to everything we need, another full bathroom, and a 2nd floor laundry room. We looked at six different houses; fact finding, etc. One Saturday in early December I was driving to a hair appointment while P took V and the baby to gymnastics. I was sipping my McDonald’s Diet Coke and took a different route to the salon. I drove into a sub I’ve been in once prior and thought, “boy, this is nice”. I saw a house for sale with a wooded lot and woods across the street. I texted P – “I just found our next house”. I told him the address and he said “I’ve already seen that on Zillow a bunch of times”. I told him to drive by it. When I got home he arranged to look at it Sunday morning and we put an offer in on it. How crazy is that?!?

More about it later.....