Dave's Grown Up Birthday

My husband, Dave, turned 33 today.  Yesss! I'm officially only a year older for a whole month and a half.

Poor Dave.  He had to suffer a grown up birthday this year.  Yesterday my mom babysat so Dave and I could celebrate early by going to IKEA without the big kids and out to brunch. Mmmm. I love the Lil Rob at Skillet.  I have yet to be disappointed by this restaurant, breakfast, lunch, or dinner.  

This morning started with me getting up with the kids so he could sleep in all the way until 8 AM.  He opened the present Linus made for him, a large box filled with some art, necklaces, and spare pirate coins.  We then made him a birthday crown.  The kids were in rare form after us being away all day yesterday and there was no coffee in the house.  Nerves were frayed.  Dave stayed home while I took the kids to Starbucks and we brought him back breakfast, then he stayed with Linus while I grocery shopped with the other two.  Coffee made the day better.  The fact that the Pumpkin Spice Latte came early made it even better.

After the kids did not sleep during the afternoon nap period, we went to the movies and saw How to Train Your Dragon 2 (which was really good BTW).  Robin is an awesome baby who was perfectly well behaved.  The two big kids were good too thankfully.  For dinner, it was mac n' cheese for the kids and me.   Dave called in an order to Wingdome for himself since no one else likes wings and it is one of his favorite foods.

birthday wings and crown

Then we quickly brought out cake and ice cream.  It had to be a store bought cake because most of my stuff, including cake pans is packed away.

You can see Dave raised his eyes at me for not singing. I did sing after Linus was done.  I just wanted to capture how cute Linus sounds when he sings.

The kids were in bed by 7 pm.  The sangria was poured and ready.  My birthday gift to Dave, aside from letting him sleep in, is a new house.  I'll get to be twinsies with him when it's my birthday.  I get a new house too!

Not every birthday gets to be super special and awesome.  Sometimes the best gift you can give yourself as a parent is choosing things that make the kids happy because nothing can be sweeter then the sounds of silent, happy, contented children.

Happy Birthday Dave.  We love you.

From the Mouths of Babes in August

Eileen:  I'm not making zombie face.  I'm just sweeping stuff out of my eye.

Linus:  Mommy I'm going deep inside my mind.

I closed the window in Eileen's room before nap because it was cold.  I hear Eileen yelling from room during nap...

Eileen: Mommy you have to leave the windows open so the house can breathe!


Eileen: Mommy you're a baby! (the ultimate insult said in a fit of rage and tears)

Eileen:  Can I go outside bareprint?

Maybe Not Five

One of favorite stories to tell about Dave's and my relationship is what happened when we went on the Engaged Encounter.  During the weekend you spend time answering questions in a journal and then meeting with your partner to talk about it.  One of the things we answered questions about was how many children we wanted to have.  Dave answered 5 to 7 and then I almost choked.  I said 3 to 5.  Oh to be young and in love.....

This past week we had our niece and nephew with us while their parents were in the San Juans celebrating their anniversary.  After 3 days by myself with 5 children under the age of 6, I can say this:  I don't think I want 5 children and I am so glad that Robin was not twins.  Honestly,  the kids were pretty good.  My nephew, Dylan, is exactly in between Eileen and Linus (if Eileen had been born two minutes later, she and Dylan would have the same birthday).  Gwen is 3 months younger than Robin.  Dylan moved between his cousins, sometimes playing with Linus and other times with Eileen.  The odd child out played by themselves contentedly.  Linus has bunk beds so sleeping arrangements were easy enough.  Costumes, Playmobil, and Legos kept them entertained.  Eileen and Dylan especially enjoyed a costumed lifestyle.

Ninjas, blow darts, and booby traps

Linus decided to earn his screen time.  Minecraft was enough of a draw to inspire him

I took the kids up to the top of Phinney Ridge, making use of my walkable neighborhood--Starbucks, picking up the dry cleaning, 99 Monkeys, the library.  But oh the looks you get when walking, pushing a baby in a stroller, another baby strapped on your back, one kid riding in front of the stroller, and another 2 kids walking by your side.  The kids were perfectly well behaved, but oh the looks.  I don't think I would have been as self-conscious had I been strutting naked by myself.  For contrast, I took just Robin with me to the grocery store and people ooh and awed over him and a person who worked there gave him a cookie.

Dave and I got very little sleep during this whole thing.  Feeding a baby during the night who is used to nursing is no small task.  Gwen was very patient but I think I averaged 2-3 hours of sleep both nights.

Early morning cousin time.

Gwen was a trooper throughout the whole ordeal.

I'm glad I could give my sister and brother-in-law the gift of alone time and I feel honored that they trusted me with their children, especially their baby.  I proved to myself that I could do it.  I even managed to get the babies napping at the same time and all five kids down for afternoon naps/rests at the same time.  The past few days served as a good reminder that maybe I really do not want 5 kids.  Yes my own five would be more spaced out, but......oh those looks.  My 3 kids keep me sufficiently busy.

Family in View

"I don't think you're an idiot at all. I mean, there are elements of the ridiculous about you. Your mother's pretty interesting. And you really are an appallingly bad public speaker. And, um, you tend to let whatever's in your head come out of your mouth without much consideration of the consequences... But the thing is, um, what I'm trying to say, very inarticulately, is that, um, in fact, perhaps despite appearances, I like you, very much. Just as you are." 
 --Mark Darcy, Bridget Jones' Diary

My family is not perfect.  We make mistakes and sometimes I secretly threaten to sell the two older kids to the gypsies.  I also love my family so fiercely in ways I did not know were possible.

We had family pictures taken by a friend who was in my Little Peppers group.  I love the way her photography covers the magic of daily life.  Some moms might be upset that not everyone is looking at the camera or that in at least half the pictures Linus is making weird faces.  But I love it.  I think our official family picture captures us perfectly.

Thanks Katy Tuttle Photography for reminding me to love our family, just as we are.

And.....no more limbo

Hooray! Allelujah! Amen!  Thank you everyone for all your prayers and positive vibes.  I know they made all the difference in the world.

We repaired the sewer.  It cost $8800.  After the crew did the initial repair, relining the side sewer, they re-scoped out to the street.  They completely disagreed with the Mr. $40K sewer repair guy.  Huge deep sigh of relief.  I swear I almost kissed the guy when he told me.

We listed the house on Friday and had an offer by the end of the night.  Another offer came in Saturday.  Sunday was an all day bidding war.  I feel so bad for the couple who lost.  I think it was emotionally exhausting for everyone involved.  Inspection was Tuesday.  The buyers did not run away after inspection, and merely asked for a credit back to address some repairs.  Awesome. Yes. Absolutely. 

I can't believe I have agreed to leave my beloved Seattle.  I will miss being able to walk to everything or being a 5 minute drive away. It was extremely hard to leave the kids' school. We are moving to Lake Forest Park.  It is a beautiful home with a giant backyard with a treehouse and a shop for Dave!  There is a driveway for the kids to play in, a large gorgeous kitchen for me that looks out to the backyard so I will be able to actually monitor the kids, and best of all, a fireplace in the master bedroom.  I am so excited I can hardly contain myself.  There is nothing I would change about the house except may some paint in the room that will be Eileen's.

Of course there is the little matter of what propelled us to suddenly put our house on the market.  My parents are moving in with us.  My husband is a saint.  That is all there is to it.  We are hoping to build them a backyard cottage.  Anyone got some connections or helpful advice on that one? 

If anyone had told me when I was younger that my parents would live with me, I would have drug tested them because they must have been smoking a lot of crack.  Things change.  I'm trying to focus on the benefits of having my parents living with me: free childcare, date nights, learn to bake bread, less destinations to go during the holidays, free childcare/chance to maybe substitute teach a little or expand my tutoring hours.

The kids are enrolled in a new Catholic school.  The uniforms are purchased.  We won't move until after school starts but that is not the end of the world.  I am so glad to know where things are headed.  The house will be sorely lacking in furniture for a while, but that just means we have a chance to make intentional decorating decisions.  Pinterest will be my friend. I look forward to figuring out exactly how lodging my parents will go, but wow, I am excited.

Living in Real Estate Limbo

It all started out so well......

We listed our house, had 3 offers in less than 48 hours.  We took the offer that was $30K above asking.  We house hunted, found our dream home, made an offer, it was accepted.  So much happiness, so much excitement all in the span of 5 days.

And then it happened.  Everything fell apart.

They buyers backed out during inspection.  Did you know that having a sewer scope done is now the hip thing to do as part of inspection these days?  We've never had sewer problems and the buyers wouldn't let us see their video.  We payed to get our own scope done.  Sewer needed fixing.   A sewer company gave us a bid based on the video of the scope that was done by another company.  Friday a plumbing company came and did his own scope (which went out further) and said he estimated the cost to be close to $40k.  Jaw dropped.  Tears were shed.

Now we are in limbo.  The sewer company is coming some time this week to do their own sewer scope and make the repair.  Meanwhile, we sit in limbo.  I had already started the process of taking the kids out of their current school and enrolling them in a new one.  I'm not quite sure what to do now, but I know I don't want to pay tuition to a school they are possibly not going to attend.  If the cost to fix the sewer really is $40k, then moving is off the table. If I pull them out of their current school, their spots will be gone immediately.  School starts in 3-4 weeks.  I need to know what school uniform to buy.

The plan is to re-list the house Thursday or Friday.  Lots of prayers, finger crossing, positive vibes are welcome this way.  In the meantime, I must continue to keep the house immaculate and staged, unsure of what path our lives will take, and live in limbo. 

10 Months

Amidst utter craziness and a trip to Nebraska where I lost my photo ID, this handsome fellow turned 10 months.

Robin is moving away from babyhood very slowly but surely.  He now has three words: mama, dada, and mum mum (food, or sometimes more specifically mum mum rice crackers).  When he sees something yummy like ice cream, he starts growling and then proceeds to make a sound similar to the Knights Who Say Nee from Monty Python.  He recognizes signs, but refuses to participate.

His very sharp teeth are now capable of leaving marks and drawing blood.  He likes to smack his lips and smile as sort of an acknowledgement like, "Hey, look what I can do, isn't this great? Let's do it together."  It may be time to go through the baby toys.  He now prefers the activity block and all the Green Toy trucks.  While visiting our friends in Nebraska, he could not get enough of their noise making and interactive toys.

Robin is still not mobile, pulling himself up, or even getting into a seated position from lying down.  He just likes to sit in a spot and not move.  However, if we place him on his tummy (because he refuses to do it on his own), he will cry while moving backwards until he gets stuck.  So I guess that is progress.

Robin still loves to snuggle, nurse, and roll his wrists and ankles.  He is very very wary of strangers/anyone not his immediate family, but it seems to be getting better over the past week.  He has proved himself to be an great traveler.  I look forward to him sleeping through the night.  In case I haven't said it enough, I love this baby,