You’re all very sweet to worry that something must be very wrong for us to miss a Bruce concert, but the gluttonous truth is that we’re seeing him tonight. And next Friday night. And in November. See? It’s all good.
I hate that I haven’t been here much lately. Things are going well behind the scenes – well – sort of well. The previous owner of our house neglected to tell us that the shower (the only shower in the house) leaked when it needed to be regrouted and we were surprised by a leaky hole in our newly painted kitchen ceiling yesterday morning. SURPRISE! And he also neglected to mention that there might be a problem with the heater, which shut off soon after we turned it on the day before yesterday and then proceeded to leak onto the basement floor. SURPRISE AGAIN! The plumber and I are now good friends.
(Yes we had the house inspected. And yes we are looking into our legal rights on these issues.)
Home ownership is fun! I did buy some beautiful mums and some pumpkins (a big one for Daddy, a medium one for Mommy and a baby one for Meli!) for our front step which made me exceedingly happy. Of course that was before the house started to leak everywhere.
Oh and our apartment is off the market. I shouldn’t even be saying this but we’re out of the LONGEST ATTORNEY REVIEW ON RECORD and await the joys of inspection. If this deal closes it will be a miracle. The only good thing about it is we won’t own it anymore. Enough said.
Meli is fantastic. I wish I had pictures to show you – I took some on Labor Day (really truly that’s the last time I took pictures of her. How pathetic is that?) But I haven’t had the opportunity to process them yet. My office is on the third floor and I’ve started working again (not that I’ve been getting any work done) but I can’t really be up here with Meli so I never really get up here. Eventually the plan is to have a computer station in the basement where the playroom is and then hopefully I can be on the computer while she plays. I actually go DAYS without being online. It’s good I guess, if I felt like I was being productive in other ways, but really I feel completely out of touch.
Back to Meli. She runs, she jumps (well – she tries really hard), she sings, she talks NONSTOP. For the most part she’s just a love to be with all day long and I wouldn’t trade her for the world but she doesn’t like to fall asleep. Once she IS asleep she sleeps great – in her own bed (twin mattress on the floor with this GREAT PRODUCT to protect her from falling the 2″ to the ground) in her own room – but getting her to sleep is a total bitch. I’ve tried a lot of stuff, but I think she just takes a long time to get to sleep. I’m usually out cold before her and then I wake up and stick her in her own bed. We’ve tried naps, no naps, routines, blah blah blah. She just has trouble going to sleep. But this means I have no time at night to myself, which really sucks. And no real time in the morning to myself which really sucks. Just kind of like no time to myself. My dad’s been coming up once a week to play with Meli and that gives me a great break, but I need to find a mother’s helper or something. Eventually I’ll get to it. Like everything else.
Anyway, so that’s what’s been going on with me. I’ve been knitting, like I said, on socks. A new pattern is, believe it or not, in the rotation. I promise promise promise I will take pictures soon! Oh and my boobs stopped leaking – YAY! That was completely annoying and distressing for a bit. I’m loving the fall weather even if I am a bit freezing this morning with no heat. And I’m looking forward to Rhinebeck in a couple of weeks. We’ll be the family with the little girl who’s head keeps spinning around because of all the sheep. (Although if there were monkeys her head would absolutely explode!) BAAAAAAAAAAA!
First rule of home ownership: you always learn to hate the guy you bought your house from.
I’m seeing Bruce tonight too! I will feel the presence of a fellow knitter (I’m sure there will be lots there!)
We had to let Ben, my 4 yo, cry it out. Same with Eli our one year old. Ben sleeps like a log now and Eli is on his way. It can still take Eli an hour to fall asleep! But he is still in a crib so I don’t care. He has a glow worm that he can turn on to listen to music and he snuggles his blankets. Or he jumps up and down and hollers. Either way, within an hour he crashes out. But it’s not easy! Some kids are tough!
I’m glad you’re knitting still, I have been thinking about trying some Monkey socks myself. we will have to see.
And if I see you at Rhinebeck I hope you won’t get freaked out when I introduce myself. I’ve been a fan of yours for a couple years now and I would love to thank you in person for all the good you have done for me.
I can sympathize with Meli. I have always been a slow to sleep person. I have to go to bed at least 1/2 hour before I need to be asleep. As a kid it was very frustrating until I discovered books. Even before I could read, Mom or Dad would tuck me in with my little lamp, give me a book and leave me be. Later they’d come back and take the book from my hand and turn out the light. I still tend to fall asleep with my finger marking my place in my book.
Have fun at Bruce! I’m envious, but I don’t want to haul out the Stadium. I’m spoiled and want to see him at the Garden. We’ll see.
As to your house, I feel your pain! After I bought my house, we found out that it too leaked (and all the stuff I was storing got soaked in a rainstorm that flooded the basement a week after I moved it). The inspector also missed that the washer and dryer didn’t work, and the oven was broken too. I should have sued my lame inspector. But over time, we fixed all that stuff and I still love the house, which is a permanent work-in-progress. I hope we see you at Rhinebeck!!!
‘suse me, what say you? you’re going to see Bruce next friday… well, SO AM I! Haha! maybe we’ll bump into each other 😉 ya know cause Giants ain’t THAT big!! YEA!!
enjoy your mulitiple Bruce experiences. As for the house, that totally stinks. I hope you are able to get some retribution because of the issues.
I think we might be living some kind of weird paralell motherhood. My almost two year old is driving me CRAZY with not going to sleep. She just freaking refuses! It is madness.
Nice to see you! And that you’re enjoying the ways of home ownership and motherhood! It is all good isn’t it. Have a great weekend.
Glad to know you & yours are fine! Have fun at Bruce. Can’t wait to see new Meli pix. Our granddaughter was due 9/28. We are waiting by the phone — pins & needles! She’s taking her own sweet time!
Yeah, that homeownership thing is a gas!!
You’ll get some time again… eventually.
; ) Miss you!
I don’t know if the States has it different, but up here, the building inspectors have NO liability. A building inspector most likely wouldn’t have seen that the shower was leaking through to the floor. You can hire individual speciality inspectors–electrical, plumbing, heating, etc–to do pre-buy inspections, but again, they have no liability. We have to fill out these long questionaires when we sell a house which is ‘supposed’ to disclose all sorts of things like if there’s any issue with the roof, or if the house was used for a grow-op. But it’s still buyer beware. We never get building inspections when we buy a house.
My third baby takes a while to get to sleep too, and I know letting her scream it out is not going to help her learn how to calm down–it’d just teach her that no one responds to her fears/concerns/hurt. We try to use lots of routine, and outside physical activity–not just a stroll, but a good romp in the park. Blue lights are supposed to help too (IKEA has a great one, called Spooka), and you can give liquid or chewable calcium-magnesium supplements. I want to find out if valerian is safe for kids; I use it alot. Some kids like chammomile tea (gag!). Learning to fall asleep takes time, just like all other skills. And just when you think you found the trick, things get changed up again 🙂
Out here in Calif. the seller must disclose absolutely everything. Selling a house involves lots of little disclosures (the closet door sticks every Feb.) in an effort at cya. You even have to disclose if something has ever happened, even if it was completely fixed years ago. Hope it’s the same for you out there.
I completely sympathize on the sleep front. Both of my kids completely stopped napping by age 3. My son got in trouble every day at day care because he couldn’t lay on a cot for 2 hours and stare at the ceiling. I will second the vote for having a routine. Some how their little bodies start to recognize the glass of water + story time + songs (or whatever). But it does take awhile for that to kick in. Good luck and hang in there!
OMG, welcome to the joys of home ownership! I’ve been here 6 years, and things still go bad. I would like to see the previous owner, a diy-er who had NO idea what he was doing, under a bus.
But the good is way better than the bad, for sure.
Also, Meli pics please! She is too cute!
i’m looking forward to seeing you at rhinebeck!
I too can sympathize on the sleep issue. My son is a couple weeks older than Meli and it takes him at least half an hour to go to sleep. He has never been one to fall asleep on his own and NO METHOD so often recommended by others has ever worked for him other than to just give him the time he needs to wind down and fall asleep. It doesn’t matter how strictly we follow a routine, how much he plays, what kind of quiet time we have in the evening or how much/little he naps, he just has a hard time falling asleep–then again, so do I. I think he inherited it from me. He goes to bed late and while he sleeps later than most kids, he still only sleeps about 9 hours total at night so yeah, no time for me at night or in the morning. It sucks. CAn only hope it will be something that remedies itself with time. If you figure something out, let me know 🙂
Hello! I found your blog by accident two days ago looking for other peoples’ homemade lazy kates.
Then, I got caught up reading your blog and just kept going and going. I love your blog. I cried when I read that you guys were pregnant, I loved the pictures of your new little one, and it’s been lovely reading up and up and up watching you and your family grow and change as I read through years worth of posts. Even though I found you while searching for one random thing, I love your blog, and you’ve won a new reader. Thank you for sharing your life! I know now I’m not the only mom who feels completely overwhelmed most days!
Congratulations on your new home! I can’t wait to read more!