Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Thankful
I have 90 other things I'm supposed to be doing right now: clearing the dishes off the table, folding laundry, cleaning up the kid debris that is all over the floor, making caramelized onion dip, baking pecan pies. And I will do all those things in the next two hours, but first I'm having a teensy glass of wine and writing this here post. Erika, Billy and D will be here in about two hours. Sissy is bringing them from the airport and I think Bri is coming over as well. I want the house to look good, blah, blah. But this is my last 10 minutes of quiet before the holiday officially begins.
I used to be better about the holidays. I absolutely love getting together with everyone and eating and playing games. It's the best! But as I get older, I'm finding that I have less patience for avoidable chaos. I have a harder time just going with it. Maybe it's an age thing or maybe it's because I've got two kids who thrive on structure that has made me way more structured than I ever was before. Whatever it is, I fear I'm getting a little uptight. So I'm focusing on being as easy going as I can be this holiday week. Everyone will have their own plans and agendas and I'm going to do my best to go with the flow. I am going to endeavor to only lay down the law when it comes to my girls and nap times and bed times and stuff like that. Because, my peeps, I need to get over the little things and give thanks for all the things this holiday is bringing my way.
I am fortunate enough to have multitudes of things for which to be thankful, so I'm only going to highlight a few (as I said, there's pie to bake!). And with that, I'm thankful for pie. I am beyond thankful for my tremendous family. We're something of a motley crew (as opposed to Motley Crue - I shared a wink with Tommy Lee once, but he is decidedly not in my family) and I really wouldn't have it any other way. I am thankful that I don't have to work right now and get to spend so much time with my growing daughters. I am thankful that we always have enough food - and it's good, organic stuff. I am thankful we have the Charmer to provide us shelter and warmth. I am thankful for all of my friends (who really fall in that motley family category). And I am thankful to have health insurance, a reliable vehicle, and my Wusthof knives. And also? I'm thankful for you, Internet Friends. I can't tell you how nice it is to have something - this here blog - that is mine all mine. I like writing it. I like hearing from you. It's an entirely good thing. There. Okay. I gotta go. I just heard the dryer stop.
Heavy, then happy, then hysterical
Heavy
Belly's eye surgery got scheduled today. December 16th. The day after my 35th birthday. I almost starting crying after I got off the phone. I know this is the right thing to do - so much so that it's pretty much in the "no brainer" category - but I feel sick about it. I cannot wait for all of this to be over.Happy
On a happier note, the basement seems to have made it out of the water debacle unscathed! Everything is dry and clean and seemingly fine. Wahooooo!! Now I can spend all that money on Christmas presents (because Lord knows that's not hard to do). I've bought a few things already and I'm getting a little excited. I have always been a staunch believer in waiting to break out the Christmas cheer until after Thanksgiving is over. It only seems fair, right? But this year, I can't help it. For whatever reason that I can't explain, I'm gettin' downright cheery already! Maybe it's because this is the first year that the girls will be able to understand what's going on (to a certain extent). Or maybe it's because we're going to my sister's house in Arkansas and I haven't seen her family and my dad and stepmom in well over a year. Or maybe it's because this year is bound to be better than last. Or maybe it's all those retail ads that have been bombarding me since before Halloween (which is beyond wrong). I will try to contain it until after Thanksgiving, but I can't make any promises. I've already belted out "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" once this week. And I'm downright giddy thinking about watching "The Year Without A Santa Clause." Bring. It. On.
Hysterical
You know what's been cracking me up every time I think about it? The other day, the girls and I were driving somewhere and running late, as usual. The section of SE Division we were on has two lanes in each direction, but there was a truck in front of me driving down the center of the two lanes like it was one big lane just for him. I normally would've let the litany of expletives flow forth (Pick a lane, you blankety-blanker with your big blanking truck, thinking you own the mother-blanking road. Get out of my blanking way!), but I've been trying incredibly hard to have some restraint around the girls. So I said, "Dang it! Move over, TRUCK!" Pretty good, huh? But as soon as I said it, the Bug let out a long string of, "Dang it! Dang it, Daddy! Dang it! C'mon, Daddy. KA-MON, DADDY!" I totally whooped aloud as I tried to hold back laughing. It sounded exactly like me. I mean, EXACTLY like me. I immediately called Dude to apologize for saying that. I haven't the faintest clue when I said it or to what it was in reference, but I obviously said it. There can be no doubt.
My friend's two-year-old daughter outdid the Bug, though. The other day as they were driving along, my friend heard a little voice from the back say, "That's not a lane, jackass!" Sometimes it's a really, really funny thing to see - or hear - yourself in your child.
A little water situation
This day started out tremendously. We all got up early - but not too early - and walked to Grand Central Bakery for breakfast. I always get a jammer (hollowed-out biscuit filled with raspberry jam) for me and a brioche bread pudding for the girls. These are my two favorite pastries there and the girls never finish the bread pudding, which means the last few bites are mine (I wouldn't want Dude to call me a waster). Our plan was to come home, get organized, and have a fun-filled family trip to the plumbing store. I've been complaining that Dude only takes Saturdays off work and then ends up doing chores all day, leaving me without a day of co-parenting, making me cranky, causing arguments to ensue. No fun. So, a family trip to the plumbing store was a compromise. I was promised we could also look at a new mattress for the girls' bed (which hurts my back) and this was the real reason I was down with the plan. But upon arriving home, Dude called the store to make sure they had the part he needed and discovered that they would replace it for free if it could be mailed. This left us with a free morning. I was all ready to go to just the mattress store when Dude said something most unexpected: "Let's go to the zoo!" What? The ZOO? I know we have a membership and everything but Dude almost never flies by the seat of his pants like that.
So off we went to the zoo! I think the girls are finally at the right age for it, too. They know lots of animals from books and were astounded to see them in real life. I think they were a little stunned at the magnitude of some of the animals, especially the giraffe. The mama and baby elephants together were ridiculously cute. When we got to the zebras, I asked the Bug how many she could count. She said, "Uno, dos zebras." The giant brain on that kid scares me. I pray that she is not a conniving teen because I think she's going to be very, very good at whatever she wants to be very, very good at. The primate house was our last stop and just as we were strolling up, it started to rain - and rain and rain and rain and rain. This was not a light little mist or a gentle shower. It was a thunderstorm. We waited 20 minutes or so and since there was no end in sight, I put the rain cover on the stroller, broke out a few umbrellas and off we went. But Belly was TICKED that she had to ride in the stroller and was not being carried by her mother (who was trying to keep the diaper bag dry). She started screaming in the monkey house and continued all the way to the truck in the parking lot. Honestly, it sounded like we were doing a poor job of covertly smuggling a monkey out of the zoo. People stared. It pretty much blew.
After we got home, I noticed some water in the bathroom and the family room, which is our finished basement. Dude and I immediately knew the problem. We had a new roof put on about a month ago, but the gutters were shot. We've been lackadaisical about getting new gutters because we've been trying to decide between regular downspouts or something fancier. We finally reached a decision (regular downspouts) and the gutter people will be putting them up on Tuesday. In the meantime, we got nothin'. And water was pooling up against the front of the house.
Dude ran outside and nailed plastic sheeting to the front of the house, creating a water slide to the driveway. I sussed out the situation downstairs. We ended up peeling back the carpet, using the Shopvac to get the water out of the carpet and the padding, propping everything up to dry, aiming three fans at the area and putting the dehumidifier right there, too. We'll see what we're dealing with when it's dry. I've already decided in my head that we'll need to replace the carpet and the drywall. Frickin' frack. This so could've been avoided and we were just stupid about it.
Somehow, neither Dude nor I have become bitchy about this. I feel like we've been a really solid team today, even complimenting each other about good ideas and stuff. We had planned to make catfish for dinner (one of our favorite things ever - prepared only after daughters are sound asleep and served with a few beers apiece) and watch old episodes of The West Wing. Instead (because the tv is downstairs in the family room), we're going to drop a three-hour Duraflame log into the fireplace in the living room, turn on some music, and pig out in front of the fire. Now some of you might be thinking, "Have they had their fireplace fixed yet?" And the answer is no, but we've been told that a couple fires using that specific Duraflame log - as opposed to a roaring fire - will be just fine (we need to have the mortar shored up in the firebox; the chimney is in fine shape and clean and ready to go). This house sure is charming but DANG we're putting some work into it.
You asked and now you are receiving
So, some of you have let it be known that you want to see the object of my house-love affection. I can understand this. It is, after all, the Charmer. I haven't really posted pictures previously because I don't have any "perfect" pictures - you know, the ones where there aren't toys scattered or dirty dishes in the background. I'd love to be able to post pictures of my darling in "show" condition... but that's just not reality around here. I have two toddlers that leave a wake akin to that of a category 5 hurricane and, well, I'm a stay-at-home mom, not a housewife. In my mind at least, there is a HUGE difference. I think of a housewife as someone who stays home to keep the house neat and tidy, bakes pies, wears pearls. I am decidedly not that person. My daily activities are much more kid-entertainment-education-centric with a large side of coffee, friends, Facebook, minor errands, etc. I try to do a sweep of the house at least once a day to put everything back in their places but I've been pretty lazy about even that lately. ANYWAY - my point is this: I'm posting pictures and they are not perfect shots. And they're only of the rooms on the main level (there's also upstairs and the family room downstairs in the finished basement). I'll post more pictures as I get it together (which will be... ?). I've also decided that it's not wise to post pictures of the outside of the house in case I were to get some sort of crazy blog stalker. Conceited? Oh, probably. Likely? Oh, probably not. But I'm erring on the side of caution. So here we go - tour of the main level of the Charmer:
Standing just inside the front door, looking down the living room (left side of the house). The red couch in the background will be disappearing, but we haven't gotten around to that yet. Eventually, I'd love a piano back there. The stairs are just to the right of this picture and you can see up them from the front door. That's the sun porch/play room at the end. There are glass French doors between the living room and play room, but they're open so you can't see them.
Sun porch/play room - there's a big cradle to the left filled with stuffed animals, some bins of blocks, etc., that didn't make this frame. And you can see out to the back deck and back yard. There's a pink dogwood that comes up through the deck. It is GORGEOUS when it blooms, and it just drops crap the other 11 months of the year.
Okay, turning back around and looking the other way down the living room. You can see the stairs on the left now. See that second step where the stairs curve around? That's the Time Out spot - a very important landmark in our household.
Details of the stairs - I have visions of the girls sneaking down to see if Santa has arrived...
This is the library. Standing at the front door, this is the front-right corner of the house (note the front door in the background). This room was brown before we painted it lavender.
Standing the other way in the library and looking down the right side of the house, toward the dining room and kitchen. There are glass pocket doors (the kind with a bunch of little windows) that slide out between the library and dining room.
Dining room - this room was blood red. Now it's pea soup! To the right of this picture is the double doorway into the far end of the living room. It's got a circular flow, see? The girls run laps. That doorway also has a pocket door, but instead of glass, it's a heavy, solid wood door. To the left of this picture are 4 tall windows that look out onto the driveway and our neighbor's house. The girls give a running commentary on the comings and goings of our neighbors.
Here's the kitchen from the doorway of the dining room. The kitchen was a soft green color. I painted it tangerine so it will be cheery even when we are in the throes of Portland gray outside. There are more cupboards, a small counter and the fridge to the left of this picture. And see that closed door on the left? Go through there and down three steps and you're in a little hallway. Turn right to go out the back door or turn left to go down more steps into the laundry room and the finished basement/family room + full bath beyond that.
And that's it! Upstairs is a full bath, a sitting area that is totally empty at the moment, Dude's office, our bedroom, the girls' bedroom, some closets, blah, blah. Maybe I'll do an upstairs tour once we get Dude's office redone. Or maybe you will be so completely bored after this post that you will beg me to not do any more tours...
The Charmer in fall
I haven't written about house-love in awhile, so this one's dedicated to the one I love: The Charmer.
We have lived here for three months now and maybe we're still in the honeymoon phase, but I'm diggin' this house like crazy. My orange kitchen is so cozy when I'm making dinner and the girls are "cooking" in their kitchen. The library has become "the drawing room" since we put both of the girls' easels in there. The sun porch is the play room with all the toys and it is downright lovely to spend an afternoon in there. The living room just got a little less echo-y with the purchase of two, soft yellow love seats facing each other in front of the fireplace. All of the ducts and the chimney were cleaned this morning, meaning I cranked the heat this afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed standing on the big vent in the kitchen until my toes were a little too toasty.
Our must-do house project for this year is to get a new roof. And that started today. The roofers were here all day, dropping the old roof into a truck-sized dumpster in the driveway. Where they pulled the old roof off, they attached new plywood. Tomorrow will be more of the same, plus the garage. Then they are going to cover it with some sort of hurricane-proof something and leave it until Monday, when they will be back to finish the job. I guess there were 4+ layers of roof in some places. They even discovered that one of the dormers had plywood and several layers of shingles attached over the original cedar shingles (the house was built 95 years ago). And none of this surprises me.
As I said, we also had the vents cleaned this morning. The girls and I went to Baby Circus while that was happening and Dude told me a horror story when I came home. Apparently, the guy asked Dude to come look inside the cold-air return in the library. He shined his flashlight in and there, about 8" in, were some sort of dried droppings. Dude said they weren't wet-fresh, but they also weren't old-old. And they were bigger than that of a mouse. EEEEWWWWW!!! Fortunately, the guy said we don't need to use that return because there are several others on this floor and he closed it after he cleaned it. But this means that we've got to hire someone to go in the crawlspace under our house to a) close any openings that might exist between it and our basement; and b) see if they can see anything living under there.
Despite this possible rodent issue that will be resolved soon, I'm finding our home to be absolutely wonderful as we move into fall. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's not super drafty and I'm still very, very much charmed.
We have been warmed
Last night, we finally had our housewarming party. I've been prepping for this gathering for the last week - tidying the house, getting the food stuffs in order. I had thought that it was going to be about 25 people, but the final number - including kids - was 46. Forty six people! I didn't even know 46 people in DC (outside of work)! We had a ton of fun and a ton of food and drink. I made the full spread of food and basically have zero leftovers. There were two bits left on each plate when the last guests left. I guess it was all good stuff! I was too harried to take pictures when the table was all ready (bummer), but here's what I put out:
- Finger sandwiches: roast beef, arugula and horseradish on focaccia; and grilled eggplant, squash, portobellos, red peppers and sun-dried tomatoes with goat cheese and pesto on focaccia
- Spinach dip
- Caramelized onion dip
- Chips
- Endive "boats" with clementines, blue cheese crumbles, candied walnuts and a balsamic reduction
- Mixed olives
- Rice cracker snack mix
- Figs, blueberries and strawberries
- Brownies
- Oatmeal-raisin cookies
And for the kids:
- Whole wheat cheese pizzas
- Cheddar bunny party mix
Beverages were assorted beer and wine, some N/A offerings and juice boxes for the kids. Halfway through the party it looked like there was still a lot of food on the table and I was worried, but then everyone kicked in to eating mode and it was really the perfect amount. I was so happy...and relieved!!
My friend Shanna brought a five-gallon bucket full of amazingly gorgeous dark red and pink dahlias from her garden and we made three large bouquets - two for the mantle and one for the table. I'm pretty sure they are my new favorite flower. These were in addition to the ginormous bouquet that arrived on my doorstep Friday afternoon from my old boss at TNTETDWTLAWBISITKWIRL who had heard about the party way back on the East Coast. (For the record: I love her. She is the girls' godmother. She was not the problem at that job by a long shot.) I do have some pictures of the flowers.
You should've seen the number of ridiculously cute kids here. They ran and played and colored and danced. And there were only a couple time-outs that I was aware of - NONE for my girls (can you believe it?!). Speaking of Belly and the Bug, they were very, very good and very, very excited to be having a party. One of my favorite parts of the whole event was watching the Bug repeatedly (as in multiple five-minute sessions) standing by the table, standing on her tippy tippy tiptoes to reach in the bowl for a chip, getting the chip just so in her hand, then reaching way way way up into the bowl of onion dip, scooping out a bunch, licking it off the chip, and double, triple, quadruple, quintuple dipping. When that chip was too soggy, she'd eat it and repeat the process. ONION dip, people. She didn't go for the brownies or cookies or cheddar bunny mix. The ONION dip. I love it. Later in the party, she got herself a big spoon and made short work of the blueberries on the fruit plate. I managed to get a picture of that, too.
I was afraid that I would spend the whole party worrying about there being enough seating, enough food, enough drink, enough FUN but I didn't at all. I just had a great time! And as is the case when an event that I've been planning for awhile comes and goes, I'm left thinking about what I should plan next. A good friend here in Portland is about to go away for a couple months, so I think I'll be having a "ladies night" sometime in the next two weeks as a send-off for her. I'm thinking lots of wine, lots of plates of "small bites" and stuff like that. I can't wait!
About 45 minutes after the last guests left (minus Dan and his girlfriend who stuck around), Jonas arrived. He was taking a red-eye last night to Costa Rica to pick up my niece and nephew from his ex-wife. We had planned for him to leave his car here and I took him to the airport. He brought with him the most adorable play kitchen I have ever seen that he made for my girls. It is THE BEST! Check it out:
And you can turn it so that the two sides are back to back!
Those little knobs for the stove? Those came from an old van that my dad had given to Jonas a few years ago. I love that Jonas thought to incorporate those. The girls saw this when they came downstairs this morning and I expect that their reaction is pretty much what Christmas morning will be like this year. They were so excited! They played with it aaaallllllllll morning.
So, here we are - successful party, happy toddler play kitchen, lazy Sunday afternoon. I'm ready for a nap.
Adrift in a sea of boxes
Please pardon the lack of posts lately - my usual nighttime blog time has been filled with unpacking boxes. The girls have not been too keen on giving me the latitude needed to unpack during the day, so I have only a few hours every night to make headway. A lot of headway that simply does not make. BUT - Bri and Dan came over on Sunday and helped me make some progress. PLUS - Bri is coming over tomorrow evening; a friend and her daughter are coming on Thursday during the day to run interference with the girls; and Bri said she'd come hang on Friday during the day since she has a vacation day from work. The unpacking shall get done (whether I like it or not, I suppose).
This house is SO big. I'm used to being able to hear what's happening upstairs while I'm downstairs and vice-versa. That just doesn't happen here. In fact, I keep having to call out to the girls and locate them when we're all on the main level. I'll call, "BUUUUUGGGGGYYYYYYYYY!!!!! BEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYY!!!!!" and I'll hear the patter of little feet in the distance getting closer and closer. Or not - and then I have to run in the kitchen and make sure they haven't somehow figured out how to put each other in the oven (everything else has been baby-proofed). They really are having a big ol' time scampering about. I love seeing them so happy. I can't wait until all of the box-chaos is done and they know where all of their stuff is. For the moment, their toys and books are out in the sun room. I'm also going to give them the bottom level or two of shelves in the library. And Jonas informed me last weekend that he's about to start building a play kitchen for them. I'm going to put it in the eat-in part of the kitchen so they can cook while I cook. How cute will that be??
In other news, Belly had an eye exam today. It was the first she's had since November and obviously the first time she's been to the pediatric ophthalmologist out here. I liked the doctor. He was very gentle and thorough. Belly HATED him...for most of the visit. She seemed to deeply resent the fact that he was all up in her grill and positively screamed with everything she had every single time he tried to examine her eyes. She's such a strong little kid that I couldn't hold her. Dude and I switched spots so he could try to snuggle her/hold her still. It only half worked. Finally, finally, finally she calmed down. Dude sat in the exam chair and held her on his lap facing out. I knelt in front of the chair and hugged her. Dude and The Bug rubbed her back. This was the only way that worked - but it WORKED. She let the doctor do a full exam and by the end of it, she was reaching out to touch his hands and his glasses and was pleasant. Then he gave her a sticker and I think she forgave him completely.
After all of that, there's good news and bad news that will ultimately be good news. The good: Belly doesn't need to wear her glasses anymore. This means the fighting to keep them on her is a thing of the past! How about an amen? Can I get an amen?! AMEN!! And how about a woot?! WOOT!!
Now, the bad that will ultimately be good: She doesn't need the glasses because they're not correcting her crossing. What she needs is surgery - probably within the next six months. I hate to think about my little baby-kid going in to surgery but I like the idea of having the problem FIXED. And putting the whole ordeal behind us. We're going back for a follow-up to today's exam in about a month and we'll get the full story on the surgery then. We understand WHY the surgery, but not the HOW yet. Today was totally traumatic and there was a lot to process, so we just left all the detail questions for next time.
It's a non-stop party here, isn't it?
Anyway - boxes are calling me. More soon.
Scattershot
I haven't blogged in a few days, so there is much to write about. Here it is in no particular order...
Belly had her evaluation this morning. She's basically a baby-kid rockstar. The developmental specialist, the physical therapist and the audiologist all confirmed that there's nothing wrong with her - she's just a late walker (most likely the result of being preemie). The relief I felt this morning was MORE than palpable. We are going to get, however, an Early Intervention eval. The physical therapist suggested that Belly's fine motor skills might benefit from some occupational therapy - you know, to help her catch up faster. Sure! Sign us up! Sounds good to me! I want my girl to have every advantage.
Next...
Who knew when I decided that we must paint the gawd-awful red dining room and the gawd-awful royal blue girls' room at the new house before we moved in that it would turn into such an all-encompassing effing production? We started on Wednesday night (see previous post), painted some Thursday night, until 1:30am Friday night/Saturday morning, most of the day Saturday and most of the day Sunday. What made two rooms take that long? Well, the dining room was a deep, blood red so it needed two coats of primer. Plus the woodwork literally had the old paint (which was off-white) peeling up, so that was all pulled off, sanded, primed and painted white (it was salmon-colored under the off-white). The dining room is now olive green. If you hate it, don't tell me. I wasn't 100% sure about it at first but now I L-O-V-E it.
The dining room was nothing, though, compared to the girls' room. I don't know why, but this bedroom has siding on all four walls. It is clear that it has always been part of the inside of the house so it was someone's conscious design choice at one point. And to that person I say, "YOU SUCK." Every single board needed to be cut-in with a paint brush and then a 4-inch roller could be used. And since it was royal blue, it too needed two coats of primer. And I had a three-color scheme planned, adding to the fun. Fortunately, only one of those colors needed a second coat. In the end, I think it's totally fab. But it's not going to be repainted until the girls are old enough to do it themselves. I will wish them well in their endeavor as I sip cocktails on the back deck.
Here are some pics of both rooms:
The dining room before...
...and after.
I should mention here that the kitchen you see in the background will be a very soft tangerine before the year is out.
The girls' room before...
...and after.
I would be remiss if I didn't give two resounding woots - Woot! Woot! - to Bri for making many of those loathsome hours of painting possible by babysitting for us. I did the math and I think she watched the girls about 22 hours this past week PLUS helped us paint on Wednesday. YOU ROCK, BRI!
Next...
While looking for some cleaning assistance on Craigslist earlier today, I came across an ad entitled "Free Carpet Cleaning for the Ladies." The body of the post went on to say "I have my own carpet cleaning business. I can do a free carpet cleaning for the ladies who have a fantasy of being with a uniformed carpet cleaning technician. A+ if you like it in the back door. Have time today or Wednesday." Ew. And by that I mean ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, EW. Ew.
Next...
Two days ago, my president Barack Obama (I can't tell you how nice it is to say those last four words, so I still like to use them whenever I refer to him) took his daughters to my favorite frozen custard place THREE BLOCKS from our old place in DC. Big giant audible sigh. PLUS he's been to Five Guys - my fav burger joint. He is really doin' it right back there. It makes me proud.
That's all for now. It's nearly midnight and I'm pooped.
I almost had to sell the Charmer last night
My mom, being the most excellent mom that she is, drove 3+ hours from her place to ours yesterday so she could babysit Belly and the Bug while Dude and I got some painting done at the new house. I did not request this of her. She simply informed me on Monday that this was her plan. Nice, huh? I even headed back over to the house to do some more painting this morning, too. Mom's the best!!!!
And Bri very generously helped Dude and I paint last night. Our goal was to get the dining room and the girls' room and closet prepped and primed. We got it mostly done (I finished the girls' room this morning). Our system was that Bri and I prepped the dining room and then moved upstairs while Dude started the painting. It seemed to be working out alright. Until I was alone in the girls' room for a minute and the light flashed off-on-off-on-off-on-off-on-off-on. If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you know that I am TERRIFIED of ghosts. So, I panicked. Bri then told me that the tape had mysteriously rolled into her foot a little earlier. This, of course, led to the two of us high-tailing it down to the dining room where I hemmed and hawed and finally said to Dude, "Um, we're scared. The light kept turning on and off. The tape rolled into Bri's foot. Can we stay with you?" To which Dude mocked us and basically told us to get our butt's back up there. Bri and I decided that the house didn't seem scary - just those things did - and that whomever was here was clearly "good." So we went back up.
The more we talked about it, the more I felt like there wasn't anyone but us there. I learned that Bri had just set the tape down when it rolled, so no real mystery (it just caught her off guard). We had been taping the closet - which is a walk-in closet out in the hallway, not actually part of the bedroom - and I walked back into the girls' room. I turned on the light and commented to Bri that I was SURE there weren't scary ghosts in the house. AND THAT'S WHEN THE LIGHT DID IT AGAIN!!!! I yelled for Dude to get up there and he came quickly. I told him it happened again and we stood there waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Finally Dude walked over to the switch, turned it off, flipped it on and THERE! My heart was racing. Dude looked at me like I was the biggest moron ever. He was all, "Look. It's an old switch. You have to push it all the way up or it sort of hovers around three-quarters up. It's not establishing a solid connection so it's flickering." And he did it again to prove his point.
Me: "Oh. Well. Thanks. Sorry. I was scared. I still want to sage the house."
The eye-rolling continued and he went back downstairs. I can't say I really blame him. But wouldn't you have been scared? I went back by myself this morning to finish painting that very room and everything was fine. I even went to the basement by myself to use the utility sink. Nothing scary. Whew! I was a little worried that we had made a terrible, terrible mistake.
A recap of mayhem...sorta
This weekend had its highs and lows, but I think it can be summed up in 4 words: Family. Everyone's got one. Let's just leave it at that. That way I don't run the risk of insulting some but not others. It seems like it just wouldn't be right if I didn't insult EVERYONE, so I'm not taking my chances. Let's instead move on to some seriously major news...
I know that I have made proud declarations on here before about Belly walking and I now run the risk of sounding like that kid who cried, "Wolf!" but FOR REALS, she's walking. And this is so incredibly exciting because let's face it - she's almost 20 months old and stubborn as hell. If she didn't want to walk until she was five, there was nothing I could do. Over the last week, she's decided that she's walking more than crawling and, in fact, crawling rarely happens anymore. She's grown steadier and steadier and steadier. It's awesome!! I've even considered canceling her evaluation, but nah - I'm going to keep it as is just to confirm that she's simply a late walker.
And the Bug is talking up a storm. She babbles nonstop, even repeating "yammer, yammer, yammer" (which cracks my shit up). Of course, from her it sounds more like "yammy, yammy, yammy." She also just started pointing to the ceiling and saying "up" (accompanied by "da" for down) and pointing to one side with "back" (and "doh" for forth). That Skippy Jon Jones - his book of opposites is having a profound effect on my little girl.
I should also brag about that other baby of mine, the Charmer. I think she's more of an old lady than a baby, though - one of those beautiful old ladies who smiles knowingly and smells like rose water, not one who complains about everything and steals the packets of jelly from Denny's. I've spent a fair amount of time over at my new home the last few days and I am pleased to say that I'm simply more in love with her than ever. I've already had a plumber over there; have calls in to a few electricians; have lined up a handyman; and have paint colors already assigned. This week and next will be sorta nuts as we get her spruced up and then we'll move at the end of next week (the last weekend in June). There is SO much to do, but I don't mind. Somehow it will all get done. I'm trying to be very Zen about the whole thing. Good luck to me on that one, right? A move in a week and a half with twins and a husband who works 9000 hours a week? Should be no problem for me to keep my cool...
IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry to pull out the all-caps title for the second time in a row, but people, my friends, my darlings - The Charmer is officially MINE!!!!!!!!!!!! Everything has been signed, sealed and delivered. I'm just waiting for our realtor to get the keys and bring them to me. OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD. I think I just thew up a little in my mouth.
I might puke
Way back in spring of 1998, Erika, Jonas and I went on vacation together to Hawaii. It was the first time we'd ever done something together as adults and we had a really, really awesome time. Erika lived in Arkansas, Jonas was here in Oregon and I lived in LA. Erika flew in to LA to spend the night with me before we both left together the next day for our trip. I was so excited for this vacation and Erika arriving that, well, I puked right before I left for the airport to get her. That quickly became the measuring stick for excitement in our family. One can claim to be excited, but unless there's some up-chucking involved, how much anticipation is there really?
I'm feeling awfully close to pukey over getting the Charmer. PLUS Erika gets here Wednesday for a long weekend (Bri's college graduation is this weekend!). Come Wednesday night, I might seriously need someone to hold my hair.
Weekend Update with...me
This has been a pretty great weekend, all things considered (not to be confused with Weekend All Things Considered). Friday night, Dude picked up some mondo burritos from a hole-in-the-wall place near here where English is spoken only limitedly. We shared a chorizo burrito and a chile rellenos burrito. Goooooooood stuff, I tell you. Plus I made margaritas. And, my friends, I should let the cat out of the bag and tell you that I make some of the best margaritas in the whole wide world - not too sour, not too sweet, not too boozy, just super delicious. That's a little perk left over from my bartending days (I make an excellent cosmo, as well). Anyway - yummy dinner and cocktails and then some serious lazing around after the girls went to bed.
Saturday morning was spent doing a little prep work for moving - taking apart our bed frame, packing up a few random things, blah, blah. After the girls got up from their early afternoon nap, though, we took them to the children's museum. SO fun. Dude had never been and Belly and Buggy hadn't been in awhile, so it was like discovering it all new for the first time. We also met the girls' friend Wesley and his mom there. I really like her. They're going to be moving sorta near our new house soon, too, so it'll be nice to have a built-in friend already over there. Here's a picture of Belly, Wesley and the Bug in the water room at the museum. In this picture, Buggy looks exactly like Erika did when she was a tiny tot.
After the museum, we went to the store to grab dinner provisions. Dude and I each carried a kid. I had the Bug and I gave her a sample of a little pastry when we walked in. About five minutes later, I realized that she was making a funny face. She still had that food in her mouth! I kept trying to get her open her mouth but she wouldn't do it. She made all kinds of crazy faces, though, and I was busting up laughing as I walked through the store. She's a really funny kid. I should post a montage of her goofy faces repertoire sometime.
So we came home, fed girlies, bathed them and put them to bed. Well, Dude did. I spent most of that time making this awesome catfish (dredged in spices, egg whites, crushed cornflakes; baked; drizzled with spicy sauce; sorta like buffalo chicken but with fish). As soon as the girls were down, we ate and then watched a movie. We spooned on the couch just like in the days of yore. Seriously - I asked Dude if he remembered the last time we watched a movie like that and he said it was when I was still pregnant. It felt so good to be doing something that we used to do all the time. Like we were regaining part of "us."
It's funny how having a kid (or in our case, kids) takes such a toll on marital intimacy. I'm not talking about sex per se, but more the random snuggling and physical closeness. There's always a kid or two who wants to be in the lap or otherwise between us. It was a wonderful luxury to spend a full two hours that close to each other without being asleep.
This morning got off to a lazy start and Bri came over (as she does most Sunday mornings). I made fatty breakfast burritos. I drank copious amounts of coffee. I basically accomplished very little today and just played with the girls. That is how Sunday should be.
Tomorrow we sign the paperwork for the house. Tuesday is a "processing" day. On Wednesday, the Pricks do their signing and we should have the keys Wednesday evening. After everything we've been through (and there is still a little drama surrounding getting our down payment money transferred from our account in DC - but I have every confidence that will be sorted out tomorrow morning), I will only believe the Charmer is ours when, well, it's ours. But I so can't wait for it to be ours!!
At peace with the universe
I wrote and posted last night's blog while Dude was at the grocery store. He came home and said, "Look. I've been thinking about everything you said. I'd be willing to cover the repairs, but we need to be on the same page that this is our final stance." I didn't even cry to get him to this place. Dude is, quite simply, the Best Husband In The World For Me. That's all there is to it. If you ever ready this, honey, know that I think you rock.
We heard back from the Pricks this morning that they would lower the price to the appraised price, but would only pay $1000 toward closing and repairs. So we submitted a formal final addendum laying our cards on the table and stating that the Pricks had until 8pm tonight to accept our terms or we terminate the contract and get our earnest money back. We would not negotiate any further. They then asked if we'd take $2500 in closing costs. I said no.
Today was the day that I reached my limit with this thing. The Charmer is, well, charming but it's not the only house in the world. And the Pricks are, well, pricks and I'm tired of dealing with them. We have been more than fair. We have been patient when they've missed deadlines in the past. We've overlooked their complete prickish prickiness on multiple occasions. And I'm done. Forget about buttoning everything up by the end of the day Wednesday. Today was it. And I felt really good about that. If they didn't want to sell us this house, then so be it.
Do you have any idea how adult that is? Man. At 34, sometimes I actually get it right.
7:52pm. Our realtor called. She had just gotten off the phone with the listing agent, who was crying. The Pricks said that they would pay $4000 toward closing costs AND THAT WAS IT. Additionally, if this deal didn't go through, they planned to file a complaint against her - which would mean that there would be a hearing with some realtor board or something like that. Now, the listing agent is pretty inept, but the Pricks are SUCH pricks. They shouldn't blame the deal going south on her. Our realtor (who is an immeasurably good person) told the listing agent that it sounded like $4000 was needed to seal the deal - and she would take a $2000 cut in her commission if the listing agent did the same and that would cover the rest of the closing costs. To which the listing agent agreed.
Have you followed all of this? Do you understand what this means? THE CHARMER IS MINE!! Again. And I'm going to Costa Rica on Friday. Thanks, Universe. I think you're pretty cool.
Fix it! Fiiiiiix it! Fix it!
Does that title make sense to anybody? You know the SNL bit? (I'm assuming the answer is yes. If not, look it up. It's funny shit.) Anyway, that's how I'm feeling about things right now.
So, the Charmer didn't appraise and we're renegotiating with the Pricks (aka the sellers). We told the Pricks that we wanted them to drop the price to the appraised price (another $13k) and keep the $13k intact for closing and repair costs that we'd already negotiated. The Pricks came back (after 5 days) and said they'd drop the price to the appraised price, but only pay $1000 toward closing and repairs. We countered saying appraised price, $13k for closing and repairs, but we'd give them the $2600 savings we'd net in the down payment at the lower price. They were supposed to get back to us tonight because they think we're leaving for Costa Rica at 6am tomorrow (really it's Friday). And guess what? Not a fucking peep. Dude and I have argued about it all night. Dude thinks we're paying too much for the house and is strongly opposed to paying another penny; I think it would be worth it to get the Pricks to cover the closing costs ($8k) but not the repairs ($5k). It all just SUCKS. And it is going to come down to one of these scenarios:
1) We get the house at the terms that are sitting in front of the Pricks now. I rejoice. Dude sighs and is resigned to the fact that we're buying what he now calls "the white elephant." Nice.
2) The Pricks counter with something that has us splitting the closing and repair costs with them. I want to do it. Dude doesn't. I can't make him. Maybe he caves because I cry. I rejoice. Dude resents me and my girl tears. Or he doesn't cave and we move on to option 3.
3) The Pricks say no/we can't come to terms by Wednesday (our final deadline for having this in the bag)/option 2 ends in Dude's favor. We don't buy the house. Dude rejoices. I resent him for being a cheap bastard.
I simply am not seeing a clear path to a wholly happy ending at this juncture. But I still want that damn house. Ugh. Maybe this should tell me that the Charmer is not the house for us, but I just feel like it is. Dude and I can't even agree on what "the signs" mean. He thinks that it's been too much work already to get it and we must be blind to see that it's time to move on. I think we have worked so hard to get where we are because it's meant to be ours. Dang you, Charmer! Why are you so enticing? Why do I love you so? I can't quit you.
(How do I start with SNL and end with Brokeback Mountain? What is wrong with my brain?)
A big heavy day
I've started and stopped and edited this post about six times so far today. It has been...a day. A week. A month. I'm ready for things to chill out. Last night, I felt like I was going to implode with everything going on but today has been more calm - mostly because there are things I can control and things that I definitely cannot. I'm old enough to know that shitty things happen and I have no choice but to deal with it all. I also know that things that suck ass now sometimes work out for the best in the end. And sometimes things just suck ass. Here's what I've got going on (in no particular order)...
I had a post-op checkup with the oral surgeon today because, well, I still can't feel half of my chin. He believes it's temporary nerve damage but it could go on for as long as two months. I'm going back next Wednesday afternoon for him to check it again. He packed my sockets with clove eugenia (is that redundant?) which helped with some of the pain, but everything is still pretty sore - except, of course, my chin. I can't take the Percocet during the day because that could impair my parenting ability, so I'm only taking ibuprofen for the pain. And I have McCainian jowls - especially on the left side. It's pretty sweet.
I called to schedule the developmental evaluation that Belly's pediatrician recommended yesterday. There was a little confusion when I called, though, and I was bounced between a few people. I started getting the distinct impression that this evaluation was for behavioral concerns, not motor skills as I had been led to believe. After ultimately leaving a voicemail for someone that was supposed to be the person that could help me, I was overcome with a flash flood of worry. I got a call back a couple hours later and it is because of the walking not something else. Now I can go back to just worrying about it like I was before I started making calls.
My mom has had a lump on her collar bone for several weeks now and has done nothing about it. I felt it the other night and it was pretty solid, yet still kind of malleable. I made her call her doctor and schedule an appointment for this morning to get it looked at. Two of my siblings have had Hodgkins lymphoma so we tend to freak pretty hard core when lumps start showing up. I did my best to stay calm but it made me absolutely insane that I couldn't go with her this morning. Her doctor was worried. She sent Mom to get an ultrasound, after which Mom was to discuss next steps with the radiologist. Just in case, the doctor scheduled a CT scan for later this afternoon and a biopsy for tomorrow morning. Great. THAT sounded like no cause for alarm. So Mom had the ultrasound and the radiologist determined that the lump is just muscle mass. Basically, Mom is in desperate need of a massage. Thank effing God. I had already hatched the entire plan of how Mom was going to move in with us, I'd take care of her, etc. I hadn't quite figured out how I was going to run the B&B from Portland, though.
The Charmer. The sellers, whom I believe I've mentioned are completely insane, decided to go out of town for the weekend and think about things, informing our realtor that we'd hear back from them on Monday. What's the effing point in being like that?? It's not our fault the house didn't appraise. We should now be a united team trying to get this transaction done. We can always buy a different house. They're stuck with a house that appraises for less than they want to sell it. I just don't get them. The stress around this deal is two-fold: 1) I want this house and I will be seriously, seriously bummed if we don't get it (although, at this point, we've done everything within our power to make it happen); and 2) I need for the whole thing to not eff up my Costa Rican vacation plans. I need that damn vacation. And if the combination of both one and two were to happen, I might go postal on the seller. I'm so not kidding.
So my stress levels are awfully high today. But then I think about Cyan and it all seems petty and totally manageable. Erika emailed me this morning with a clearer picture of what's happening with Cyan. The head of the PICU at the hospital where she is says, "Things are not going well. I can’t say much due to privacy issues but a huge miracle is needed and lots of prayers for her and her family." Cyan definitely needs a new heart and has been alive only because of life support. They do not and will not know the extent of the damage to her other organs and her brain until she has a new heart. I simply cannot fathom what her family is going through. This constant straddling of the line of life and death seems so drawn out and immeasurably torturous. My niece, D, is obviously quite upset as she watches one of her best friends hover in limbo. She told me that she cried at school today. Ugh. I wish there was something I could do for SOMEONE involved in this terrible thing. I hate feeling so helpless.
This is not a pleasant post. No. No, it is not. Let me end it, though, with a beautiful poem that D wrote today entitled Continuous Infusion: Cyan.
You were born with a broken heart
but it won't be hard to fix
Butterfly wings will rip through the back of your arms
and a tree will sprout from between your lips
I'll send an envelope embossed with silver
And in return you can send me a swarm of bees
You were born with a broken heart
but it won't be hard to fix
I'll connect myself to you with a tube
And a series of memories linked like a chain
I'll send a continuous infusion straight from my heart
Blood transfusion full of love and music and a waiting glass house:
Everything you'll need to survive this
Are you effing kidding me??
We just found out that the Charmer appraised lower than the sales price. I can't effing believe it. Personally, I think the appraiser doesn't know shit from shinola, but whatever. Now we either a) renegotiate the price with the crazy-ass, I'm-a-litigator-and-better-than-you, psycho seller; or b) get another appraisal and see what happens; or c) walk. We're starting with the first option. My Costa Rican vacation may disappear because of this. All of a sudden, my oral surgery tomorrow seems like the least of my worries. I'm ready for a Valium right now.
A glimpse of breakfasts to come
Dude and I took the girls to our new neighborhood this morning in search of breakfast. We found a sweet little spot approximately four blocks from what will be our new digs. Dude and I both had eggs benedict and it was t-a-s-t-y. The girls had blueberry pancakes and fruit.
While both girls are hesitant to talk to strangers, The Bug goes super shy for a longer span of time than Belly. She just clams up and STARES. Our waitress, Maryanne, was also the owner of this fine establishment and she was hilariously funny - really great with the girls. Belly seemed pleased that Maryanne brought her bananas and dried cranberries immediately. The Bug...well...she seemed borderline terrified. Maryanne kept a safe distance, but tried to engage both girls in conversation the whole time we were there. The other waitress also came over to chat and ham it up for the girls. At one point, the two women stood next to each other in front of The Bug and Maryanne asked her questions like she was a Magic 8 ball.
"Which of us is prettier? Hey! She looked at me! Which of us is older? Smart girl! She looked at you! Which of us has a son named Bernie? No, sorry - it's her. Who has a son named Joe? Right! It's me!"
Buggy didn't move a muscle the whole time except to shift her eyes back and forth between the two women. I thought I was going to pee my pants, it was so funny.
Maryanne was incredibly nice. When we told her we were moving to the neighborhood, she made a point of learning our names, telling us about other kids that live around there and said to me as we were about to leave, "Rachael, if you need anything - and I mean ANYTHING - come on in. I'm usually here. I remember I had a rough first year in Portland so I'm here for you. I mean it." If that's not a warm welcome to the neighborhood, I don't know what is.
After breakfast, we walked up to our new home and peeked in the windows. The stagers have taken all of the furniture out of it so it looked pretty bare. But I still love it. Even empty, it's warm and inviting. Which is good considering I don't currently have enough furniture to fill it and because of what we're paying for it, I'm not going to have enough cash on hand to feel comfortable going out and buying a bunch of stuff right away. I suppose I will have it decorated properly a few years from now with a combination of pieces bought new, at estate sales, vintage shops. The end result will be better than if I purchased everything right away anyway. But for reals - Spartan is going to be our style until then. Think minimalist but with Fisher Price toys.
I can die happy
I. am. so. sick. I'm going to bed. But first needed to put this out there in the universe: We have finally come to terms with the jackass seller of the Charmer. The new roof will be ours. We close June 1st. And I had about 3 oz. of Chimay to celebrate. Now I'm completely done. Must sleep...
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