October 2005

October 01

house update

as of yesterday we have no cabinets.  they are supposed to come today...we'll see.  of course we are back to the same predicament.  we need to give 30 days notice and would like to not have to pay rent and mortgage together...i just wish we could get a straight answer.  whatever, i can't think about it, it stresses me out.

anyway, they have painted the place, added baseboards, and installed most of the light fixtures.  they have also done something to the bathroom floors that makes  me think the may put down the flooring in there soon.  we'll see.

my parents are coming monday and that is very exciting!  i wish our house was going to be complete by then, but obviously it won't.  anyway, i hope that they enjoy their time here as much as i know we will enjoy having them here.

maybe there will be more to write later...

 

October 02

parenthood

i realized that i haven't written that much about becoming a mom.  i've written about being pregnant, but that's it...  i was re-reading jerry's blog entry and i thought that maybe it would be fun to write about becoming a mom.  but i must say that i feel like i already have.  the other night we slept with the windows open and fans on and it was really nice...until i woke up at 2:30 in the morning needing to what? pee of course and i realized i was freezing.  i had been sleeping without any cover and a cold front moved in quickly and made the room a freezer box.  anyway, i was shivering so bad it was next to impossible to turn the water on to wash my hands.  i looked in the mirror and saw that my lips were purple.  i was FREAKING out.  i crawled back in bed and pulled the covers tight and stuffed my hands under my armpits.  here i am shivering in bed and i find myself thinking two things. 1)what else am i supposed to do to early stages of hypothermia and 2)how on earth is the baby doing?  after i warmed up i really started freaking out.  i couldn't feel the baby move.  all i could think of is that i have shaken our baby boy to death.  so of course i couldn't go back to sleep and i was upset and everything.  my guess is the baby was like what is up with this woman...i'm all warm and comfy...ANYWAY, i finally got up and ate something and then laid back down and that jolted him right up...of course then he wouldn't be still...but i prefer that.

i wonder though if sometime i will be one of the constant worriers of a parent.  i would like to think that i will worry the right amount.  but these days all you hear are the bad things that happen to babies.  very rarely do you hear about the babysitter that did a good job in watching the kid.  or the teacher that taught the child to read.  it's all about someone hitting the baby because it wouldn't stop crying.  or the teacher who was molesting the children in the class.

it's all very overwhelming.  i think about the struggles our child will have.  i hope that we raise a level headed, open minded, loving child.  i hope that we are great parents.  i hope that we will learn from our mistakes and be able to move on.  and hopefully our mistakes won't be to bad.

i have every confidence that we will be good parents (especially Jerry).  we both love kids and have seen what can happen to children who are neglected and abused.  but i have the same thoughts as jerry, wondering if our kid will like us.  if he'll come home and be excited to tell us of his new friends.  if he'll confide in us when someone calls him names or when there's a bully in his class?  i wonder if he'll know how much we love him already and that nothing he does will stop us from loving him?

of all the things in life that come with instruction manuals, i have to wonder if this shouldn't have been number one.  i mean really...we are taking the birthing class, and eating right and reading all the books, and making all the decisions...but really, what's going to happen when this baby comes home?

i wonder how it'll be?  will i really be able to breast feed and use cloth diapers and in the long run will this really make a difference with who our boy will become?  i guess it's the whole nature vs. nurture thing right?  i mean jerry and i came from completely different backgrounds and we both turned out great (not that i'm biased or anything...)  i mean if we don't buy our child things that make noise and have bright colors, is he going to have dulled senses?  i have to look back at the"geniuses" of the past.  i mean einstien didn't even finish high school...beethoven was deaf...so really?  i don't think that the scare tactics some of the companies are using are fair.  of course our child will have music in their life...but i don't think that mozart will make him any smarter than say bob marley.

anyway, these are my opinions and while i digress from the main topic (blame it on the pregnancy hormones) i have addressed my worries and concerns...i must admit not as eloquently as my hubby...but nevertheless...

yawn

rain, shmrain....we have gotten more rain in the past three days than we did with hurricane ophelia.  our street is under water and the driveway is flooded.  neither of these are any shocking news as when it looks like rain our street floods and our driveway is underwater.  AND the rain kept us in last night from seeing the new Wallace and Grommit movie .....hmph!

so now...we do need the rain and as soon as it finally stops the water will recede rather quickly and i will probably get lots more done around the house.  though i would like to get out to see our new house.

WE GOT OUR CABINETS!!!!! apparently they were made  (or shipped into) TX where rita hit and for some odd reason they had to go through new orleans to get here?  whatever...they are here.  as of wednesday they had the bathroom cabinets installed, so we are hoping that the kitchen cabinets will already be in by today.  so all that is left is putting the flooring down: carpet and hard woods, grading the landscaping....stupid rain, finish connecting the water and sewer lines, and finishing the electrical.  not that i'm a contractor or anything, so here may be other things they have to do, but visually, that's all i can see.  it has been very frustrating, but i know that once we move in we will love our house.  my teaching job ends in november, so i am really looking forward to nesting in the nursery and the house.  hopefully we will have enough time to plant a winter garden, so the soil will be already turned for summer veggies.  jerry wants to set up a little greenhouse like area outside in early spring to st6art an early garden.  this way we will have tow summer crops.  we hope to purchase a freezer and we already have a canner (just don't know where it is....) it's all very exciting!  i have pictures of the cabinets in the bathroom, but i can't find the camera...i think it's in the bedroom and jerry is still sleeping away. he works so hard.  i never want to wake him up.  what a good hubby i have!

it occurred to me (after i freaked my very loving mother-in-law out) that i may have freaked out others with my shivering story.  i just want to reinforce that i was JUST COLD!!!!!  a cold front moved in in the middle of the night and i had three fans on me with no covers.  it was also one of the first nights in a while i had actually been able to fall asleep.  baby and mom are just fine.  in fact i am sure that little ruckus was wondering what all the fuss was about.  anyway, i am sorry if i freaked anyone else out.  i will be more careful as to what i write.

on another baby note...i keep getting pathetic looks from people when i tell them we are doing cloth diapers.  if they only know how much freaking cheaper they were and all the benefits.  we are breastfeeding exclusively for 6 months.  which means less smelly, less gross diapers.  i am staying home for at least a year, so we don't have to worry about childcare providers that  won't take cloth (which i understand...gov't regs and all).  less diaper rash because the babies skin can breathe.  no "running out" of diapers.  hello, you just through them in the laundry and bam a fresh supply!  and babies who wear  cloth tend to potty train faster.  i could say i'm all about the environment, but i believe i would a bit hypocritical in that i just opened a box of books i ordered from amazon, instead of finding them in 2nd hand stores, and they were covered in non-recyclable plastic with lots of junk advertising paper.  BUT having said that, the cloth diapers are more environmentally friendly.  but really it's the cost.  we will become a one income family this next year and one must find as many ways to save as possible.  that's not to say that on trips we won't use disposable, because who wants  to carry a soiled diaper in the car with them?  i am hoping that more people will become supportive of the idea .  we thought long and hard about it and made this choice.  i may seem like a spoiled little girl, but i have NEVER been afraid to get my hands dirty.

okay, so i have had my rant.  we have another belly pic to put up on the site, but again the missing camera....hmmmm.....

October 08

quick note

wilmington is flooded.  it was crazy trying to get to the house, but on our way back the road were already starting to clear of water.  we have kitchen cabinets!!!  and they are installed...wahooo!!!!!  also finally uploaded the newest belly pic.  now that the sun is starting to shine, the day is looking better and better!

October 12

wednesday....

we went some freinds to see Wallace and Gromit last night!!!!  I love Wallace an Gromit and if you have never seen any of the shorts, you should see this movie!!!  I believe I laughed through most of it.  It was fabulous!  I am really gald we waited to go until last night.  we had the whole theatre to ourselves which made it even better.

It also made the fact that our closing date got moved back AGAIN a little less painful.  Now we are supposed to close on the 28th.  The reasoning this time is our weather with all the stupid rain, they can't lay the driveway.  While I appreciate the need for a flat surface and the fact that the workers will supposedly track less dirt into the house, could they not have done this WHILE WE WERE WAITING FOR THE @#$% CABINETS?!?!?!?!?!

I understand that there is a certain order things are done, but come on....

ANYWAY...I called the movers and rescheduled them and I called Lowe's and rescheduled the delivery of our fridge, and everyone was nice to me on the phone, so that was nice.  I really appreciate when people are nice to me.  It really does make a difference.

So I am doing a college fair for Warren Wilson College today.  I always enjoy doing these.  You get to meet a bunch of kids interested in going to college.  It takes me back!  I thought that the senior year of high school was a good time.  You were planning for the future.  I loved flipping through all the view books and filling out the little cards.  I wouldn't want to go through that now, but how much fun was it then?

I guess I should go re-read the literature they sent me so I am not a bumbling fool.  Jerry comes along with me so he can share his experience there as well.  It is really such a cool school.  While I was there I know I had issues with it, but after having gone to a state university that claims to be "liberal arts'  I am sooooooo glad I had the opportunity to attend WWC.

Okay, really enough now...  Oh yeah, check out my friend Tracey's site and see all the beautiful snow she got stuck in.  It really is very pretty!!!  I am glad they are safe (and that it is still in the 70's here....hehehe).

October 15

rant

okay, jerry won't let me write the business lady at the contractor's office because i would not be nice AT ALL.  first of all they are telling us that our house is going to be done by the 28th of october and sure we can give our notice.  then she goes on to tell us that the plumbing is done and the electrical is done and the countertops are done.  she must think we live in alaska.  we go there almost daily and NONE of that stuff is done.  so either she has not been out there and the contractor is lying to her, or she thinks we're idiots and she is lying to us to get us to shut up.  THEN we go over to the house the other day and all the windows are closed and i walk in a my eyes start watering.  (side not: being pregnant heightens the senses...this is only good if cookies are around....) the workers IN our house have been smoking IN our house. honestly would it take you two more seconds to take your butt out side to smoke?  so jerry write's the lady (here is where i would not have been nice AT ALL) and she writes back to say that there is no rule against the subcontractors smoking in the house and there is really nothing she can do and she doesn't think that there are any health problems this will create!  okay well, now i just know she's the dumbest people on the planet.  jerry's asthmatic and i'm pregnant and they tell me that eventually i will have a little one (still not sure how the physics of that works out) and this woman is telling ME that there are no health problems associated with second hand smoke.....OH MY GOD WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN.....idiot.  first of all, one of the novelties about BUILDING a house as opposed to BUYING one is the cleanliness (supposedly), if i wanted to buy a house and there had been a smoker that had lived there before i would have the choice to say no thanks or to re-do the house.  but this is new construction.  cigarettes have TAR in them...tar is sticky, sticky things sticky to stuff such as walls.  maybe i should write a freaking children's book on it and send it to her.  not to mention that all this is just plain unprofessional.  i have been in tears over it the past few days and i know that poor little ruckus is wondering what is up with his mom.

i must say though that apparently this is a common thing.  and while that DOESN"T MAKE IT RIGHT, it makes me feel a bit better that we aren't the only one's getting screwed.

okay....enough of that.

we are  going to see my in-laws today so that should be fun. though i know i look pretty beat up.  i have been sleeping at least 8-9 hours a night...well i have been in bed for 8-9 hours a night...but i wake up every morning with circles under my eyes.  i think once i am done with teaching that those will get better.   i only have 4 more weeks teaching and then i get to concentrate on decorating the nursery and picking up a few more hours at the library.  i really love the staff at the library.  they are so nice to me and we have such fun when we work together!  one of them is getting married today, since we are going out of town i can't go, but i am sure it will be a beautiful service.  she has worked so hard planning...she deserves a great day!

so it's about time for me to call my folks.  i wait until 8:30 to do that as they sleep in late and all...wouldn't want to wake them....

 

October 17

quick before dinner

our house is supposed to be done by friday!!!!!  hopefully this will happen.  we went out today and lots had been finished.  the plumbing is almost all in and the electrical has been connected...so we'll see!!!  with any luck we will be in our house by the end of the month!!!!!!

so now i am off to feed little ruckus as his is kicking up a storm and wants some food....and so do i...and whatever jerry has fixed smells very yummy!!!!!!!

 

October 19

finally

it looks like we finally have a secured date for closing.  we are closing on halloween. hopefully everything will go well.  we went out to the house last night and saw that they have graded everything for the drive to be poured...hopefully that will happen today.  after that dries they can put the flooring in .  so we are finally moving forward.  i can't wait for the walk through which will happen next week!  now if i can just get things worked out at work with time off and stuff, but i'm sure that everything will be fine there too.  in a way this helps us.  as long as we close before novemeber 1 st our 1st mortgage payment isn't due until december 1st.  so even though we are paying half a months rent in a house we won't be living in, at least we won't have a mortgage payment to pay as well.  so i'll call the movers to reschedule AGAIN and we have to work out the fridge delivery.

BIG SIGH....we also talked to the bank yesterday and they made us feel better about the closing.  i was freaking out about closing costs.  but the bank is giving us money toward closing, we are using the builders lawyer so we'll get money back from them, and our real estate company offers a .5% rebate just for using them.  so we now it all depends on the home owners insurance costs.  we are getting quotes.  it seems that the first year has to be paid up front and then it goes to monthly...whatever, i still think it won't break the bank.  mom and dad are helping us with moving expenses (we will of course pay them back when the deposit comes back to us.)  hiring movers is the best thing we could have done.  we are trying to sell our piano, though i don't think it will happen.  we have planned a space for it though and maybe it will work out anyway.  i would love to keep it, but it's just HUGE!!!  our plan was to sell this one and look for a smaller one somewhere down the line...anyway...

not to change subjects so quickly BUT...

jerry and tracey have been doing the reflecting thing.  t.j.'s burpday was on the 16th (hoppy burpday!!!) and then we went to jerry's family's for last saturday and he received some great copies of pictures from his family.  i am so glad that family is important to jerry.  it is very important to me.  and while we all don't agree on things sometimes, i am so happy that we are having a child that gets to come into this extended family.  both sides of the family have such assets and this baby will be loved beyond imagination.  we, of course, will love him with uncondiontal love... but the love and support of extended family is so great and powerful.  i means that even if little eli is super mad at us he will have grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins that he can talk to with and complain about us too.  of course, both sets of grandparents will spoil him rotten, not to mention great aunts.  and that is their job.  our job is to make sure he re-learns to eat his carrots and drink his milk after a visit with the gps.  and that's great!!!  i think that between all of us we will have a VERY well rounded young man and who could ask for more really?  i think he is agreeing with me...little kicker...

anyway, that is my reflection for the time being.  i'm off to reschedule things!

peace...

October 22

lalalala

"Oh what a beautiful morning! Oh what a beautiful day...."  Actually it's rainy and hot, but what a grand day!  We went out to the house yesterday and they have finished putting down about half of the wood floors and have the padding down for the carpet!  On wednesday we went out and they had just pour the drive and Jerry wrote our initials in it right next to the garage, so we are a permanent fixture there.  Our beautiful sod has been put down and the shrubbery has been planted.  We aren't thrilled with the shrubbery, but it is nothing we can't change.  We have our walk through on Thrusday afternoon and then we close on MONDAY THE 31ST!!!!!!  So exciting.  We were planning over dinner last night what to get for the house after we close on Monday.  We decided to go on and get paint for the nursery and window coverings.  We will take some stuff over to the house on Monday and Tuesday evening and then the movers come on Wednesday!!!  AND we have had three calls about our piano.  I'm really really sad to see it go, but we will find something smaller eventually.  Now we just have to finish packing the house and make the final runs (yes plural...many runs) to the Goodwill and then we are to start with the massive cleaning of this house.  We got a letter from our renters the other day.  I must say that it was rather harsh and a bit rude.  They sent us a six page letter on bright YELLOW paper telling us all this stuff we needed to do and the OUTRAGEOUS charges we would get if we don't do them.  Anyway, we looked at our damage report from when we moved in and felt a bit better.  Our carpet is nasty, but it was nasty when we moved in.  I mean I understand that they probably get lots of college students moving in that don't care because their parents are paying for everything, but they should have a nicer letter for those of us who are respectful.  At inspection time, the inspector guy said ours was the cleanest, best kept house he had seen...so there.  Anyway, I'm not too concerned.  We will clean and replace light bulbs and all that good stuff, but we will probably not mow the lawn again.  We spent a good portion of our first summer  here making the yard and gardens look nice.  The garden areas were all under about 3 feet of pine straw because the landscaping people were too lazy to bag it and carry it away (by the way I AM SO GLAD THERE ARE NO PINE TREES ON OUR NEW PROPERTY!!!!)  We also fertilized the grass and made ti really pretty...so there. (I like that little smiley guy...hehehehe.)

Okay, well that's enough for now.  i'm off to call the parental units where it is probably freezing...though our temps are supposed to only be in the 60s next week.  I really don't like fall here.  One day it's 89 the next it's 68...back and forth until about mid-November and then the winds shift to NE and it becomes rather cold...stupid wind....hmph....ANYWAY...that's it for now...

October 26

fall or winter?

I cannot believe this weather.  Last week we had 85 degree weather.  Today the high is supposed to be 65.  At least the wind and rain have stopped.  The sun makes going outside much nicer.  It's not that I mind cooler weather, but it's just really weird how fast it got colder.

ANYWAY, we met the insurance guy at our new house today.  He will have everything ready for closing.  It's amazing how cheap home owners insurance is, but here you have to add on wind and hail coverage and that quadruples the price.  sigh  Oh well, I'm beyond caring right now.  They are locking down the house tonight and cleaning it tomorrow.  We have our walk through tomorrow evening to make sure everything is okay.  Then on Monday.... WE CLOSE.....WAHOO!!!!!

Jerry and I are going to a Halloween party this weekend which should be really nice.  I am going to be an oven (since I've got the bun in the oven...get it? hehehehe) and Jerry is going as the chef.  I thought this is hilarious.  I got him a chef's hat today.  Had I not already packed the sewing machine I may have made him one, but I'm making everything else, so I thought it would be okay to buy one thing.

I had to go into work for a parent teacher conference this morning, so I was up fairly early.  On my way home I decided to pop into Lowe's.  We need a mailbox and Jerry really wants a storm door with a screen in it.  So I went in to price those items.  I love Lowe's and Home Depot.  I could spend a whole day in there...not to mention a ton of money.  But it's fun to dream and pick stuff out.

Now that I'm home, I am really tired.  So I think a nap and then I will pack up the electronics.  We have to mow the yard one more time before leaving so I will do that this afternoon too....maybe...yawn....

October 29

halloween

We are going to a party tonight.  I finished making my oven costume last night and Jerry has his chef's hat and apron.  I'll take pictures and post them later.  I must say that this may be the last entry for a bit.  We are moving Wednesday and as of right now we don't have the cable set up.  We close on Monday!!!!  So we can schedule stuff then.

I'm putting the belly picture up from 26 weeks and 5 days....WAHOO we're in the last trimester!  I can't believe it!  I'm so glad to be this far along with very little complications.  I hope and pray that the rest of my pregnancy is as smooth.  I finish teaching on the 15th and then it's only library work on Friday's and if they need a sub until the beginning of January.

I'm also putting up the finished house pictures. I am going to make a whole new album for it.  I think it deserves it!

Today and tomorrow are packing/cleaning days.  The only thing we want to do on Wednesday is vacuum and clean the carpets.  So with any luck we won't be totally exhausted for Thursday.  Jerry is taking a Thursday off too as that's when our fridge is going to be delivered and hopefully the cable will be installed.  I have to work.  We will paint the nursery next weekend and then on November 11th I will finish decorating since I have that Friday off (YEA!)

We did our walk through the other day and it was a bit of a disappointment as the listing agent didn't show up and the electric wasn't on.  But our wonderful agent, Mike, was there and helped us with a list.  We went back yesterday and today to check some other stuff and they had the electric on!  We have a GREAT warranty, so I 'm not too concerned about stuff breaking or not working since they'll have to fix it.  It's amazing how much light comes into our house...we love ut!!!  Mike was telling us that we got the house at a great deal because new construction is now way above the 150's here.  We also found out that our house was appraised at more than we paid for it so we have automatic equity!!!!!  All very exciting stuff.

I just realized the time and must finish getting ready for the party!!!  I'll try to post before we move...no promises!

October 30

oh what a night

We had so much fun last night!  The party was a grand success.  We felt so grown up even though we were dressed up as were all the other guests.  Our host and hostess were dressed to the nines and served a very generous feast of yummy things.  I think I ate my weight in food.  They had the best pumpkin bread and deviled eggs and shrimp...mmmmmm....

Anyway, many of the guests had their kids there and they were running around (which was very entertaining) and the adults were all standing around chatting.  It was a great atmosphere.  We were talking over breakfast this morning that just five years ago we would have been hung over and not really remembering who was at the party.  The best thing was that we were totally fine and happy to be adult-ish!  It's not that there wasn't alcohol and people weren't drinking, but they weren't drunk.

We also decided that unfortunately we couldn't have a huge party like that without someone reeking of smoke or needing to go outside and smoke.  That's just sad.  And maybe that's why we don't have people over more often.  I just don't want my furniture smelling like smoke.  However, when we move we are going to have a cookie party/housewarming party. but it will be more of a drop in thing I believe.  We do have a few friends who are smoke free and they will be encouraged to sit and stay a while.

Okay, anyway, against Jerry's wishes I am posting our costume picture...hehehehe....