#100

We are in! Moving in turned out to be way easier than moving out, thanks mostly to the family and friends who helped with Luke so that Nate and I could unpack! Big thanks to both sets of Grandparents, Kevin and my Sibs, and my friends. All of our boxes are unpacked and we are all set up. There will be lots of furniture shopping and decorating down the road, but for now its time to hunker down, relax, and start getting mentally prepared for little Deuce's arrival in just a few short months. The house is awesome. I cant believe how homey and comfortable it feels already. We put up our tree on Monday night and Nate left Tues for LA....he gets in in the morning and I cant wait ~ Luke and I are missing him.
I had my first "I'm 27 weeks pregnant and have a little baby and Christmas shopping is HARD" breakdown at KOP yesterday. I (idiotically) thought that I could let Luke nap in his stroller while I shopped. Yeah.....not so much. Between the throngs of bit**y fur clad women, frantic men who all looked as though they were in desperate need of a drink, and the horrible, too loud piped in "rockin Christmas" music it was a nightmare. Luke was miserable. I was miserable. Shops were all so crammed with merchandise that it was a huge chore to simply navigate the stroller around. I cursed (more than once) as the stroller got snagged on racks. I kept looking down at my sweet, easygoing baby who was crying in his stroller with the knowledge that I DID THIS TO HIM by dragging him out at the wrong time of day. I was sweating, and lugging the stroller up and down escalators (walk around the entire mega-lo-mall to find an elevator??? Just not my style) and meanwhile the mantra "this is NOT what Christmas is about" kept swirling around my head over and over. I finally called Nate in tears. Poor Nate. He was in LA. I think that I just needed someone to feel sorry for me for just a moment. He told me to go home, relax, and that he would watch Luke for me on Friday afternoon so that I could go finish up sans baby. I pretty much RAN out of the mall, and smothered Luke in apologetic (and teary) kisses as I loaded him in the car seat. We came home, and cooked up some dinner as Jeannie was coming over to eat with us. Christmas music and candles did the trick until about 6 PM....I was feeding Luke when suddenly all hell broke loose outside with firetrucks and police cars swarming the street and front yard.....our neighbors home was on fire. Men with ladders and axes were running down the street, fire hoses wound through my front yard (well....what will someday be yard, right now its straw covered dirt/seed :)).......I could hear breaking glass as they broke the windows. It was about 3 houses down and across the street. The house has a lot of trees around it, so I don't know the extent of the damage or what exactly happened. How terrible to have a fire this time of year. It freaked me out and I will admit that I was scared going to bed....all alone in this big house I just felt vulnerable and wanted to gather up Luke and have a snuggley sleepover in my bed with him. However, I resisted the urge....went to sleep and lived through the night. Seeing that fire and my breakdown at the mall helped me regain some perspective......
Christmas is about family, and gratitude, and joy. NOT about gifts, or frantically "doing" everything, or obligations. I know all of that in my heart, but sometimes lose sight of it in my zeal to get everything done just "so".

#3

So short of our wedding day, and the day that Luke was born, today probably registers as "Important Day #3" in our history (It will get booted down to #4 come March when little Deuce is born). Today we buy our new home. We had both bought houses before we were married, but somehow seeing both of our names on that deed makes this one even more special to me. I'm anxious, and excited, and worried, and calm all at the very same time (yes, that is tiring, luckily I am a gemini and rather used to being a conflicted emotional mess). Nate is over at Biddle now doing some last minute things as I am here at Mom and Dad's while Luke naps. Settlement on Biddle is at 12 and the new house is at 2. Then the move in begins (forewarning: moving in complaints to start soon, now that moving out complaints are over with :)) I started to cry today talking about selling Biddle, so many wonderful things happened there! Much as I am anxious to move on to a larger space I will really miss that little chapter of our lives. I will treasure it.

Luke is having so much fun showing off his new walking skills ~ and he is absolutely in Looooooove with this stuffed animal that is here at Mom and Dad's ~ just hold up Mr. Fox and Luke will walk right over for a giant "kiss" a la Luke (he shoves the Fox's whole snout into his mouth ~ Its hilarious because the Fox is about the same size as Luke is, so they really look funny, this fancy Fox in his hunt attire and this crazed little baby with his slobbery mouth just kissing away).

Here we go.........

Messy Motherhood

Generally speaking, I am a slightly obsessive neat freak. I like order and neatness, if not actual sparkling "you could eat off the floor" levels of cleanliness. HOWEVER........I am particularly, gleefully, messy right now. I am undergoing some sort of juvenile rebellion after the strictly enforced OCD~like neatness that showing/selling the house required of me the past 6 weeks or so. I may never, EVER again straighten the slipcovers on the couches (the knowledge that the couches are not making the move with us to the new house further heightens my resentment of those blasted slipcovers). I refuse to pick up Luke's toys every 5 minutes. Sometimes I don't even wipe down the highchair from one feeding to the next. *Gasp* I never for a moment even considered how sinfully decadent and delicious it could feel to just revel in a little mess. Add to that the fact that I have fantasies of drilling a small hole in my nose to drain my stuffed up sinuses, Luke has a cold, we are beginning to start packing, and I have been running around like a madwoman picking out Granite counter tops, lighting fixtures, carpeting and plumbing fixtures and ugh.....its been hectic. Can I say that I never for even a moment considered how many sorts of plumbing fixtures there are in the world? And that doesn't even begin to touch the number and variety of finishes available for those fixtures! Its a whole world that I never knew about. Truly. And picking out your closet lights? MAN! Hardly the pinnacle of excitement, but still necessary and time consuming.
I have had a hard time sleeping the past few nights as I contemplate the move, packing, the new house, and this hole that I want to drill in my nose (the scar potential scares me, so the new fantasy involves somehow doing it up through one nostril....thank GOD I don't have chronic or even occasional sinus issues or I may well have maimed myself long ago....) I picture Luke looking out of the french doors over the back porch taking in his first snowfall...him running around the yard, cuddling with his new brother or sister and me on the couch in front of the fire....I love the idea that he is going to wake up on his very first Christmas morning in his new home! Then my mind begins to wander and I picture how wonderfully neat I will be "in the new house", the incredible meals, the entertaining, the creative arts and crafts projects I will do "in the new house" ~

I shamefully admit that I have created this fantasy wherein I will be a better, more together, thoughtful, creative and all-around-wonderful person "in the new house". Poor house. Has no idea what sorts of pressure I am already putting on it in my sleepless nighttime craze!

Luke is now a waving machine. Its his new shtick, and he loves to show it off to Nate and I, but when we try to take the show on the road he looks at us like we are crazy. He loves to make liars out of us already. He is still standing around, then taking one step, and appears in no rush to really start walking. He has a snotty nose, but no fever, so I am doing my best to get it out of his system before we travel up the the burg for Thanksgiving. I cant wait to see the little bugger dig into his first plate of turkey and all the trimmings. Meals have become a disgusting adventure in taste and sensory exploration. We are hot and heavy into the whole concept of "finger foods". It is funny and scary at the same time. Luke delights in his food. He picks it up, eats it, drops it, rubs it in his hair, throws it to the dog, spits it all over his chin, etc etc......Every time I change him into his pajamas I find a small snapshot of the days meals inside of his onesie.
Motherhood, moving, and mess.

We got the house!

And we finally came to terms with the buyer of the WC house! Here is a pic of it several months ago, the exterior is finished now. Settlement is currently slated for Dec 14th, but we may try to push that back one week, we will know more today. What a horrible process buying and selling is. Not suitable for personalities like mine. Thank God that it is all over with, and that we have found a wonderful home for our family to grow into. I cant wait to have everyone over now that we will actually have space to entertain you in! Thanks for all of the prayers and encouragement as we dealt with all of this madness. Nate is off to settlement on the condo today, and we are celebrating tonight :)