Vacation (Bullets), All I Ever Wanted

*Even though the total time sunk into driving and flying and to Vegas is roughly the same when you factor in security lines, I FAR prefer flying. I particularly like showing up to an empty airport and being able to breeze through security and catch an earlier flight.

*Three Card Poker remains my favorite game to play. What I do doesn't affect anyone else at the table, unlike, say Blackjack where I feel way too much pressure. I came home $85 ahead, but the husband was down $100. In my mental vacation math, I call that a wash.

*The entire reason for the trip was to see Garth Brooks. I saw Garth fifteen-ish years ago when he was on tour and that was a major production. This was just him, his guitar and a tiny theater. Incredible.

*I'm entirely too old for an event that begins at 10:30pm.

*Despite being completely child-free for the first time in nine months, we weren't able to sleep past 8:00am. Since we weren't going to bed until 2:00am, this did not make for the luxuriously restful vacation I had hoped for.

*We watched a Sex and the City marathon while getting ready one night. My love for that show knows no bounds, but the edited episodes are kind of pointless.

*My lovely, in bed by 6:30pm daughter decided to shun sleep and was still up for David Letterman and Saturday Night Live on Friday and Saturday nights, respectively.

*We are now a few hours into the 48 hour grandparent-detox period. Wish me luck.

Stuff I Love RIGHT NOW

*My Amazon Mom subscription. I immediately maxed out my Amazon Mom Prime subscription by ordering a car seat and plan to enjoy the free shipping fruits of my clicking labor until October. With a coupon from Parents magazine, I just ordered 176 size 4 diapers for $20.44. Shipped to my front door. That, friends, is a Good Deal.

*Tile cleaner. Possibly the most boring thing to love ever, but also totally awesome. In an attempt to spruce up our bathroom I picked up a $6 bottle of magic at Home Depot, and Holy White Grout, Batman!

*Free Kindle books. I regularly click through the Kindle bestsellers section and download a free freebies.

*Pretty much every single pair of flats and espadrilles Old Navy is offering right now.

*Simultaneous naptime, achieved twice this week and on hiatus today. Come back naps, we miiiiiss you.

*The promise of a child-free weekend getaway. Vegas, here we come!

I get it. I SO get it.

You know I was very quick to judge the way other people keep their houses, and to be fair, I will probably continue to judge. Because that's WHAT I DO.

But, I understand the giant pile of dirty laundry in the laundry room of the house we were looking at yesterday.

Our agent asked us to do a little decluttering before we list our house. Necessary decluttering, for sure. There are a few things you want to happen when someone looks at your house. You want them to be able to imagine themselves living in the house. You also want it to look like no one really lives here. Because in a house where people live, there's always something. Always a pair of shoes (or four) next to the bed. Always a book, or magazine left somewhere. Always a pile of things waiting to be put away. And, on the very best of days here, that's it. There's ALWAYS something. The problem is, when people come into your house they look everywhere. So, my usual trick of stashing things in the laundry room, or downstairs closet won't really work. Even my master closet, which is pretty much guest proof isn't safe, because someone is going to look in there and we want them to ooh and aah over all of the space, not focus on the overflowing laundry basket and the nineteen discarded purses in the corner and the snow clothes taking up far more room than clothes that haven't been worn in three years should.

We looked at, and came very close to making an offer on, one house. A house that is essentially the house that I live in now with one additional bedroom. The thing that drew me into this house was the fact that it was completely redone and spotless. Now, with some work, ANY house could have looked like this house. I didn't fall in love with the floor plan, I wasn't blown away by the size of the kitchen. I was drawn in by the brand new carpet and the shiny kitchen appliances and the immaculate and minimally landscaped front and back yards. And sure, there's something to be said for all of that, but once I shook off the shiny and pretty haze, it was obvious that it wasn't the house. But, shiny and pretty drew me in and and I'm sure I'm not the only obsessed-with-appearances home buyer out there. So, while I totally understand the pile of laundry and the sippy cups in the sink and the couple who lounged on the couch watching golf while we peeked into their closets, I also understand the need for the illusion.

Now if someone could just come over and make that illusion happen over here, that would be great. I have no idea what to do with all of this stuff.

Home again, home again

(I'm almost certain I've used that post title before but am too lazy to search to find out for sure.)

We've started the tedious process of house hunting after six years in what a friend of mine dubbed our "starter house." It's a good house, but there are things about it that bug me and the time seems right, price wise, to think about moving on. (Note that "right time" does not mean that home prices are reasonable. I fly into a rage while watching House Hunters when I see what $200,000 can buy in some parts of the county.)

It's such a first world problem to complain about the hassles of looking for a new home, but that's what we've got. Honestly, I love going to look at houses, but I have this thing where I feel guilty when making people do their jobs. I mean, it's our realtor's JOB to take us to see houses. There's absolutely no way to decide on a house without seeing it in person, no matter how many pictures you look at, but still I feel guilty sending her a list of the houses we're interested in looking at. This is totally unfounded guilt because we do plan to buy and make this worth her while, and we also have a house to sell that will net her a commission. Still. Guilt.

In looking at houses it's kind of astonishing how people live, or at the very least, how they leave their houses knowing that people will be traipsing through. I'm the first to admit that I'm not the neatest person, but having spent the past two days scrubbing my master bathroom tile to within an inch of its life, I do know how I feel about people looking with a critical eye at MY home and the way that WE live. I mean, we were in a house this morning that had a giant pile of dirty clothes in the laundry room. Not in a laundry basket, just strewn all over the floor. And, I'm currently perusing listings that show trash all over the floors in their listing pictures. This I do not understand.

All the same, it's exciting to look at a house and think of the parties we can throw in our bigger backyard, and the office space that we can move out of our bedroom and the playroom (playroom!) we can create with the extra bedroom in some of these homes. If you need me, I'll be dreaming of my playroom. (I'm not sure you really understand here - there is a possibility of moving the train table out of my living room. A playroom, people. EEEE!)

Bub-isms February '11

When walking with something in both hands:

Me: Hold my hand, kiddo.
Bub: I can't Mama, I have full of hands.

***
Me: What are your favorite rides?
Bub: I like Pimocchio, Funder Mountain, the roller coaster.
Me: Where is the roller coaster?
Bub: In Yoger Rabbithood
Me: In Toon Town?
Bub: Yeah, in Toon Town. By Yoger Rabbit.

***
Bub: Can I have a cookie?
Me: You can have one cookie after lunch.
Bub: Mama, I need two cookies because I have two hands.

***
Me: 'Night buddy. Sleep tight.
Bub: Wait Mama! I need twenty kisses first.

Blog Share

Blog Share is a chance to post anonymously about something that needs to be said. I didn't write this post (although man can I relate to #4 - it seems like our dog is the last thing we remember when we're trying to make out of town plans,) but my post can be found at one of the blogs linked below. Show this blogger a little love and then click around and read the anonymous goodness. Enjoy!

Random Confessions:

1. I like Kid Rock. That totally doesn't go with any of my other varied musical tastes, like BNL, Michael Buble, Darius Rucker (both present and circa Hootie), etc. But right or wrong, I like Kid Rock. I like Cowboy, I like Picture w/Sheryl Crow, and I think it's great that he transitioned into country and dropped a little of the rebel business. I heard It's Good To Be Me on the way to work this morning, and it made me smile. Please don't tell.

2. I have been working part time for the last year, for the first time since I was a teenager (about 20 years ago). It was a transition, but I have discovered that I am very good at working part time. I volunteer at my child's school, I shovel the driveway, I grocery shop, I walk and yes, I watch soaps sometimes. I can't imagine working full time again right now. I am fortunate to have a husband who supports this. He likes that there are virtually no household chores left for him at the end of the day.

3. The downside of part time work is that I've gained weight. My job involves sitting most of the day, so I can't claim it's the lack of activity. I probably move around more when I'm NOT working. I also snack more. Unfortunately I've been very food driven for a long time, and I haven't convinced myself to drop the sweets. Maybe if my clothes stop fitting. They're showing signs, so it might be time to think about that.

4. I don't want a dog. There has been some pushing from my husband (strangely, not from my child) to get another dog (our last one passed some time ago). I like being able to be gone for hours at a time without worrying about the mess we might come home to. I like last minute spur of the moment weekend trips. Give me a cat or hamster and I'll be fine. I would also be okay pet-less.

Other Blog Share posts can be found here:

The Time for Change
Bright Yellow World
Reflections in the Snow-Covered Hills
Totally Serial
Daily Tannenbaum
Andrea Unplugged
Malfeasance
From Kim's Desk
Rediscovering Me
Being Five
Nothing Is Easier Than Self-Deceit
Molly's Musings
Heidikins
Snarke
Did I Say That Outloud?
The Reluctant Grownup
And You Know What Else
Bwildered
Thinking Some More

Resurfacing

After Bub got sick, of course the baby got sick. Naturally that turned into a double ear infection with fourteen days of antibiotics. Then two teeth made their slow progression to the surface. Then my husband woke up with the stomach flu. THEN, two days later, so did I. (It's totally my fault though, because just 24 hours earlier I had told my husband that I desperately needed a sick day. Universe? That wasn't exactly what I meant.)

So, while I was granted 24 hours of staying in bed, I felt so miserably awful that I couldn't concentrate on books or magazines, television was annoying, and even sick people snacks were off-putting. Be careful what you wish for.

We're now digging out from days of prioritizing and I have officially become the minivan mom cliche. There are at least four sippy cups littering the back of my car, multiple discarded sweatshirts, and enough Goldfish cracker crumbs to keep the dog busy for a week. Oh, and yesterday I was getting ready for bed when it occurred to me that I had forgotten to shower. I didn't run out of time, it just never occurred to me.

But, BUT! Yesterday, when I picked up Bub from school his teacher greeted me at the door with a huge smile and the announcement that yesterday was his BEST! DAY! EVER! She's been bombarding me with concerns about him lately to the point that I get the on-my-way-to-the-principal's-office feeling every day when I walk towards the classroom, so that was very welcome news. We celebrated with a trip to the park and our world seem to shift back into it's proper rotation a little bit.

Spousal Rage

Given the fact that I'm not even aware that my husband is awake until he kisses me goodbye in the morning, I can excuse that fact that he's blissfully unaware of most of the middle of the night baby wakings.

However.

When the baby is awake from midnight until nearly 5:00am, and I get out of bed no less than eleven times to go back to her room again, and he sleeps through all of that, well that is slightly less excusable. Night Anger indeed.

Overthinking

Last night was my book club meeting and also my turn to pick the next book. Oh, the ridiculous fretting I did over my book choices. Here's the thing, I read a lot, but I'm not necessarily well-read. Who said that? I'm stealing it from one of you, but I can't remember who. Anyway, I read a lot, which means that I've read plenty of duds. And you never really know which book is going to be a dud until you've read it, no matter how well received it has been by others.

Some people in the book club choose a book that they've already read and loved. It's sharing a book you loved with the group and it's also giving you a chance to discuss the book. Still, I prefer to read the book along with the group. Thus, dud possibility.

We voted, and chose Orange is the New Black.

Here begins five weeks of worrying that people will hate the book and blame me for it.

Yes, these really are the things that I worry about.