Finally Upacked That Camera Cord...

And look what I found...

I guess we got a little too carried away packing:

This is how he likes to sleep with his butt in the air:

Roscoe enjoying his temporary playroom:

Grandpa/Grandson Message T bonding:

(Grandpa's: This is a What a Really Cool Grandpa Looks Like)

(Roscoe's: I Only Cry When Ugly People Hold Me -- gift from Uncie & Patty -- lucky for Dad he isn't crying)

Lolo exercising, er, feeding Roscoe: 

(afterwards Lolo looked like he ran a marathon he was so tired...and notice the glass of vodka...imagine what shape he'd be in if he had to change his diaper/wrestle him?!)

What's funny about this picture that I couldn't catch is that Ray is trying to adjust the height and Roscoe thought it was hilarious to step on Ray's face and jump.  Sick sense of humor already:

Roscoe's first amusement park (Marine World) last weekend:

Rare family photo (yes, I need a trim, thank you):

Mesmerized by the elephants:

Father and Son.  Ray is totally Roscoe's favorite now.  If he leaves the room he cries and if he enters the room he cries until Ray picks him up.  I guess the endless hours of peekaboo have really cemented their bond:

Uncie and Patty's housewarming last weekend (they didn't move, but did a full remodel):

Bonding with Tita Stephanie:

Is it funny that I think he really looks like Ray in this picture?

Alas, the photo I really want to get has eluded me.  Roscoe does this hilarious thing when he is crawling around (one armed army crawl still - right elbow with a left toe push-off) when he takes a break or looks around.  Basically he turns on his side and balances, but with one elbow down and the other on his hip kind of.  Lala Friend says it's her favorite pose.  Ray and I think he looks like George Constanza from Seinfeld in the episode where he is posing on the couch in his underwear.  I won't give up... I must get photographic proof.  Stay tuned...

p.s. Three teeth in three weeks and counting... no wonder he hasn't been sleeping AT ALL.  Pretty soon Ray's parents will probably buy us a house themselves just to get us the heck out so they can sleep.

We Pulled It Off

As we were driving away from our house last Sunday night after 2 months of working every free moment, waking up early (with no sleep thanks to Roscoe) with sore backs and wrists and knees and powering through... We were a few blocks away and Ray said "we pulled it off" and I thought that perfectly captured it.  A little bit surprised and a lot relieved.  Full kitchen reno - new cabinets, counters, backsplash, appliances, hood, shelves? Check.  Painted almost whole house including moldings, doors, inside of closet, door frames, wainscoting, some ceilings, front bedroom floor, etc?  Check. Refinished floors?  Check.  New electrical, 4 new windows, new window pane in back door, new bathroom and kitchen lights?  Check.  Finishing work like fixing the missing moldings, using 2 buckets of spackle to patch, modifying the gas line, cleaned paint of window panes?  Check.  Even replaced all outlets and switches and plates so they are all new and sparkly and white?  Check.  And moved in the middle of it?  Check!  Our house officially went on the market yesterday and the first open house is this Sunday.  Cross your fingers for a quick and well-priced sale, so we can dry our tears and move on already.

Just a reminder of what our kitchen looked like BEFORE:

And... 

drum roll, please...

  

AFTER!

And the rest of the house:

Discombobulated

I feel like I should have something to say since I haven’t posted in a while and it feels like there is so much going on.  But I don’t really have much to say after all.  We have moved so big change there, I suppose.  Dad came to visit and worked like a dog to help us get ready to sell our home.  We are so close to being done with the work that I can almost taste it.  That’s a good thing, too, since we only have 2 more weekends to work and those weekends are also filled with other commitments.  Roscoe is cutting his first 2 teeth (bottom front).  I think that is about it. 

More than anything these days I am feeling a little lost.  I have plenty to do, but I still don’t really know what to do with myself.  It is probably just the state of limbo we are in: we don’t live there anymore, we kind of live here, but not really and we don’t know where we will be in a couple of months.  My work and nanny schedules have changed so much in the last month or so that I can barely remember where I am supposed to be and when I do or don’t have childcare.  Plus, we still haven’t decided where we want to move, our nanny is still moving to Brazil in a couple of months and Ray is still planning to leave his job and take over his dad’s company in a few months.  Maybe in six months I will look around and finally recognize my life again. 

In the meantime things are going well and I am feeling mostly optimistic and curious for what is to come.  Soon we will have pictures of the final product when our house goes on the market (2 weeks from yesterday), so I will wait to post any “After” pictures until then.  Our real estate agent is so geared for a quick sale that it has me torn between hopeful and skeptical.  Only time will tell!