Oh, Right. We Bought a House.

And here it is:

We went to look at this house just for fun - we couldn't believe the price for the size and neighborhood. We were sure there was something wrong with it, but we thought we'd go look because we were so curious. 

I started falling in love while I was walking up to the front door. Then I opened the door and saw this:

The living room 

I looked at Aaron, and that's when he knew we were in trouble, because I had already fallen completely in love with the house. One look, and I was already sold.

If you turn to the right when you walk through the front door, you see this:

It's a den/dining room/bonus room. Currently it houses boxes, but it will eventually be our formal dining room (if I have my way) or office (if Aaron has his way).

Off of the living room is the kitchen:

I absolutely love all the counter space. The dishwasher has already been replaced, and the stove, refrigerator, sink, and countertops are following sooner than later. 

Just past the kitchen is the eating area and the family room:

The family room extends around the corner and is about twice the length you see here, and full of windows. It's my absolute favorite room in the house.

We're currently doing a lot to this floor - we put in new door knobs/deadbolts (you never know who out there has a spare key), we're replacing appliances, light fixtures, painting, perhaps adding more wood floors (I hate the carpets - they pill, fuzz, and show every speck of dirt), adding new window treatments, and maybe even buying new furniture. Being a home owner is both fun and expensive!

Also on the first floor are a half-bath/mud room and the laundry room. Off of the living room is the staircase to the second floor, which I'll share tomorrow...

Seriously!?! (alternate title: Out of Season my Rear!)

Last week Gabbie went from having sandals that fit to having sandals the edge of which her toes hung over. Seriously, it happened just about over night. So, we needed new sandals. I mean, it just reached the 80s/90s here, it’s like summer just got here in August. It will probably be hot for a while, too. She really needed new sandals, like, last week.

Except, apparently, according to retailers, sandals are “out of season” (that’s what the lady at Stride Rite told my mom when she called). Rain boots? Check. Full-coverage dress shoes in fall colors? Check. SNOW BOOTS? Double check. Sandals? Nilch. Nada. None. You have got to be kidding me! Since when is August not sandal season? I plan on wearing my sandals through October if I can help it; I’m sure that because the hot weather started so late, it will still be warm enough then. Gabbie is still wearing shorts and sleeveless rompers.

Thank the Lord she doesn’t need a bathing suit (I hope, she hasn’t tried hers on yet – it might be too small already too).

And it's only Monday (except I totally thought it was Tuesday - I'm a day off again)

Over the weekend I seemed to have developed a nice case of mastitis. Exciting, no? Especially for someone who weaned their baby (toddler) 2 1/2 weeks ago. I'm on an antibiotic starting today that leaves a nasty taste in my mouth, which is awesome. Thankfully I only have to take it 4 times a day for a week.

If you follow me on twitter or are my Facebook friend, you may have seen my tweet from earlier about daycare. When I walked in this afternoon to pick up Gabbie, I noticed a cloud forming near the ceiling above the sign-in table. Upon closer inspection the nearly 5-foot diameter cloud of smoke was coming from a scorched-looking light fixture. Awesome. So, I went into the baby room and told the teacher, who then pulled the fire alarm and took the remaining babies outside where all of the other children were playing already. I asked if they needed anything, but they had it under control so Gabbie and I hightailed it home.

Once we got here, I decided to check my email, where I was informed that they had discovered asbestos tile in the toddler room (they're recarpeting and retiling this week), which is safe now, but which will be removed on Wednesday. They're going to relocate the kids for the week, but I think I'll keep Gabbie home anyway. Just one of those things, I guess, and my mom and Aaron both agreed with me. My mom is thankfully willing to come and provide childcare, but still. This week is pretty much a wash from the get-go. And I'm sick enough that I just want to crawl in bed anyway, but all of this makes me want to bury my head under the pillow and hide.

Swears, Etc.

All day on Tuesday I was convinced it was Wednesday. I even scheduled some appointments for the next day – Thursday – thinking that “I’ll do these tomorrow”. So, as I stated yesterday on twitter, you can imagine my disappointment when the actual Wednesday rolled around. It was like my week was an extra day long! And I seem to be stuck on this train of thought – just a few minutes ago I found myself thinking that today was Friday. I guess I’m just ahead of my time. (I’m here all week!)

There’s a slight incline leading up to the door at Gabbie’s daycare, which I never notice until it’s the day after a good workout. Ouch! My legs are really, really tired from my run last night, but the rest of me feels excellent.

Damn, there was something else awesome I was going to tell you about, but I can’t remember what it was. I have a system, you see, where I remember a number that corresponds to the number of things I’m doing. If I don’t write down a grocery list, I’ll remember that there are X number of items to get, and it usually works. Usually. So there were 3 things to tell you today (the post-workout soreness is a bonus item. You’re welcome.), but I can only remember what 2 of those things are. So, it’s not a fail-proof system is what I guess I’m saying.

So, swears. Yes. We’re trying to reduce the number of swear words we say because of the whole “little pitchers have big ears” thing. Gabbie comprehends so much these days that we’re finding ourselves having to be very careful what we say. For instance, the other day Aaron said the word nurse (which we stopped doing 2 weeks ago now) in passing, and Gabbie popped the pacifier out of her mouth and came running across the room toward me. Good thing she also understands the meaning of the word “no”. Anyway, so we’re trying not to swear and I’ve been doing a pretty decent job of it, until the other night when Aaron scared me nearly to death. I was cuddling Gabbie back to sleep in the chair in her room. It was pretty dark, and in her closet is the opening to the attic which completely creeps me out for no particular reason other than it just does. So, I was sitting there rubbing her back and humming a lullaby, and my eyes were closed. Aaron, apparently wanting to see if I needed any help, snuck into the room somehow avoiding every squeaking floorboard, and was standing over me (and directly in front of the attic opening) when I decided to open my eyes. That’s when I let two swear words (one starting with an f and another with s, both preceded by the word Holy) fly loudly, waking up Gabbie again in the process, and jumped nearly a foot out of the chair.

Aaron offered to take over getting her back to sleep (smart man), and I laid in bed for nearly an hour while my heart slowed to normal speed and moved down out of my throat. He’s never allowed to do that again. EVER.