Start Those Prayers, Please. Okay, GO.

Our real estate agent continually pointed to his goal of being in contract on our house by October 1.  I kept thinking that would be amazing, but isn't it a bit overly optimistic?  He was so darn confident, though, and then I thought surely he wouldn't get our hopes up if he wasn't pretty sure, right?  HA.  Unfortunately my hopes sneaked up without me even noticing it and now as October 1 passes I find myself frustrated and disheartened with flashes of desperation.

It isn't that I don't like my in-laws because I do.  That is exactly it, though.  I want to STILL like them (and them to like me) when we move out and it is hard to continue to get along when they aren't used to sharing their house with a baby and 2 dogs and 2 adults.  And we aren't used to living in one bedroom with said baby and dogs.  I am starting to feel the internal pressure rising and threatening to burst.  It is just too much for my homebody, Cancer self to not have a nest.  I need a cocoon, a little cave where I can puts and putter.  I know this was the best decision for our family, but I am wondering how long this will be the best decision for me and my mental health.  Just saying.

Roscoe sure makes sacrifices easier to handle with his cute self.  He likes almost everything: chewing books, flipping pages, sucking on pickes, drinking water from a cup, drinking tub water from a toy cup, playing peekaboo with Ray, any attention at all from Ray, feeding us with his spoons, being outdoors, climbing stairs...  Just about the only thing he doesn't like is sitting still.  That can make changing a diaper, feeding him and dressing him a challenge.  He also seems to have a resistance to sleeping normal stretches of time.  Details, details.  Thankfully he has stopped waking up every hour through the night, which I think was due to the dreaded teething.  Since we moved here one month ago, he has gotten six teeth.  Yes, you read that right, six.  And the other good news we have is that since our nanny is moving to Brazil in a few weeks, Grandma Bird is coming out for a week to watch Roscoe and help a girl out.  We sure did luck out in the grandparent department for Roscoe.

Here are some photos for those lovely grandfolks:

I think Roscoe has outgrown his "infant/toddler" tub.  Exhibit A, B and C:

Roscoe hamming it up for me while I have the camera in my hand:

Ray was in a wedding last weekend (and by far the most handsome, of course):

The newlyweds:

The Pose!  I got it!

 And resting...

 Still resting...

 And The Pose again!

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!  

Time Marches On...

30 seconds in my head these days:

…I REALLY need to pack today (what the heck do we even have in that trunk under the TV?)...what day is it today?...uh-oh, did I forget to submit payroll for X client? …Roscoe sure is getting a lot of practice entertaining himself (sure you can suck on the carpet, just today though)...oops, just dropped another ball at work…I can’t believe I am moving in with my in-laws.  Will we still like each other in a few months?…forget packing, I REALLY need to get some work done today; my clients are probably wondering where the heck I am …have I eaten yet today?  If I eat another can of tuna I will gag (all we have in the house)…wait, are we really moving in 4 days?… maybe our new house will have 2 bathrooms!  And a yard and a white picket fence!  This is worth it, right?  RIGHT?…I wish I could have more coffee…crap, when is the last time I changed Roscoe’s diaper?…nevermind work, I REALLY need to do our overflowing laundry so I can pack it…hold on, today is the 24^th?!  So, that huge work deadline is due in 2 DAYS?!  …*looks at whining dogs* have I let you guys out to pee today?

The other day, while in a conversation with Ray, I started babbling nonsense.  I couldn’t form a sentence or think of basic words and I even called Roscoe “Basi” and might have called Ray “Ikaika” without even noticing.  My brain is not the brain it used to be and I might actually (literally) be losing my mind.  The rational side of me knows this is just temporary – the perfect storm of work deadlines, remodeling, moving, raising a baby, sleep deprivation and figuring out new childcare.  Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that our second nanny is LEAVING THE COUNTRY?  Yeah, the first one lasted 7.5 weeks and then fled to Mexico.  This one has been with us 7 weeks and told us last week that she is moving back to Brazil.  Is this like a 7 week itch?  I mean, I know Roscoe can be a handful, but really?  He’s so great!  How can you not want to stay just to bask in his cuteness?!  Ray’s mom also had to rearrange her work schedule and can now only watch Roscoe on Tuesdays.  The one day that I cannot go into my biggest client because there is nowhere for me to work and they have meetings in the conference room all day.  This leaves me one day a week to work there (except once a month when I have to go to another job that day).  Sure, no problem!  (Sarcasm aside, though, I am so grateful for the help and Roscoe is happy with her so I would do anything to accommodate)  I can’t even complain about the childcare situation because it is our own fault.  I am the one that decides to short myself on help so I can save a buck and then I wonder why I am so overwhelmed and can’t get my work done.  Duh.  When will I learn?

What else is new?  Roscoe is doing an unseen before (by me, at least) army crawl in which he uses his elbows (mainly one elbow) to drag himself across the floor while also pushing off the floor with his left toe.  It doesn’t make sense, but it is surprisingly effective.  I have a video, but no Internet means no sharing. 

We also are about 95% done with the kitchen and about 20% done with the painting.  Add in the floors and some other little projects and then we are DONE.  We move this weekend (yes, while my dad is visiting - we are such gracious hosts…), so it will make it easier to do some of the work once our stuff is gone. 

We bought our tickets for Chicago (can’t wait!)

We also found out Laura and Jesse are having another girl – hooray for big sister Tessa!

And our Baby on Board sign (recently featured on a blog post) was stolen from our car.  Someone actually cut the zip ties it was attached with.  Who steals a Baby on Board sign?!

Ok, update over, got to go before I forget what I was supposed to be doing today.  Love you all!

Progress

You can tell how stressed out Ray and I are by how many times we fight and over what. Saturday might have been a record as we argued about whose fault it was we had no coffee, when we should leave for Ikea and Home Depot, which faucet we should buy, which range hood we should buy, which backsplash tile, which backsplash edges, whether we should get everything at once or come back later, who was giving more attitude, whose fault it was we were fighting so much...you get the idea.  


Thankfully, Sunday we didn't argue at all because we were both too tired and fighting requires effort.  The reason we were so tired was not because of all of the work we did on Saturday.  It was because our dear child decided once again to just not sleep.  Like, at all.  I distinctly remember looking at the clock at 2:38am and thinking ruefully how funny (funny crazy, not funny haha) it was that no one had slept yet.  Then sometime between then and "waking up" at 5am Ray broke out into full body hives.  I am telling myself it must be something in the building materials he was using on Saturday and not the fact that his wife and child drove him to madness.  


After weekends like this Monday doesn't look so bad (ish).


I am happy to report, however, that we made loads of progress on the kitchen and had a painter come by to give us a quote on getting help with some of the painting that needs done.  I am having a helluva time figuring out when I am going to get the painting done because I don't want to do it with Roscoe in the house and he is only out of the house 1 day a week and I really need to work that day.  Plus, 1 day is not going to put much of a dent in the project.  We'll see the price he comes back with and maybe it will be worth it to hire it out (I can't believe Ray and I are considering PAYING someone to do something we could do ourselves... so not our style)


Anyways, here are a couple of photos of the kitchen (new developments include dishwasher and range - not yet installed, range hood - partially installed, stainless steel range backsplash, subway tile backsplash - minus grout, handles, knobs and inner fittings on cabinets, toekicks - except the dishwasher one, and a couple of coats of paint on that wall so we didn't have to paint around the backsplash/hood once installed...estimated finish = next weekend):  


BEFORE (just a reminder):

DURING:

AFTER:

[coming soon...!]

And some other photos of our last couple of weeks:

Ikaika after a long day of work on the house:

Roscoe catching some rays:

Roscoe practicing his 4 wheel drive skills:

Trucks and Babies

It feels like ages since we had a weekend to just go on an adventure, so I really enjoyed getting away on Saturday (though Lowe's is an adventure of a sort, I suppose...).  I love road trips and spending a few hours in the car with nothing to do but stare out the window and chat with Ray.  We spent the day catching up with friends, eating BBQ and Roving.  This is what Roving Duty will get you (Ray under Resty's car with tools, trying to fix a "blown third"...yeah, whatevs):

We had a bittersweet reunion with Fiona the FJ, but were quite happy to drive away in our family ride with 4 real doors and room for the stroller in back.  Ladies and gentleman, I would like to introduce Bluto:

That's right, BABY ON BOARD!

We saw other babies on Sunday at the picnic, but none as cute as Roscoe so why bother with photos of them?  Here are a few of Lil Roo Rock-soe:

And a couple of recent videos:

Ticklish

Scootin'