Better than we remember

We have the keys, baby! 

After signing endless pieces of paper, the five months of waiting have come to an end. We are the proud owners of the home in which we will raise our family! Max will likely be the only one that remembers this home, and I will certainly miss this place dearly. It has been a wonderful, wonderful home. 

But MAN do we love the new place! Omar and I just kept walking around with goofy grins on our faces, loving it more and more as we imagined the soon to be reality of our lives there. We have so much more room! The boys were actually running around with a Nerf ROCKET that is as tall as Spencer (kindly left behind by the Rappaports), and I didn't care! That thing would do *damage* in our current house. But he could actually run around the place and NOT inevitably put someone's eye out! We weren't going to try to move in until this weekend, but now we can't seem to wait. Since most of our furniture is staying here (for showings), we are going to take the mattresses, throw them on the floor and grab a couple pairs of underwear! It may be like camping out, but we don't care! We are so excited to get over there. 

The new carpet hits tomorrow (the worn out baby blue had to go), and then we will start taking over the essentials. I can't wait!! Pictures soon!

Love it...

You know what says "Welcome to your new house" more than anything?

A vomiting baby. 

I think everybody knows that....

As Mary would say, Aah Shickits..

Second look at our house... "can't see this house working for him"

You would have thought he could have figured that out after one showing. Oh well...

Full circle

As most of you know, I have a second job. When I am not working as an ER doctor, I am working as a bar wench. When I am working a brewery tour, washing my 33485th sample glass for the evening, I do, at times, wonder if anyone knows how completely over-educated their dishwasher is. 

Well, last night, the answer was yes. As I was walking the tasting room, looking for empties before Omar kicked off the tour, a 20-something guys says "Hey, are you a doctor?" "Uhm... yes I am..." He they inquires 'You work at North Memorial, right?" 

This is when I give him the "Ok... now you are freaking me out a bit..." look. He points to the reasonably fresh scar on the bridge of his nose and says "I KNEW it! Honey, this is the doctor who sewed up my face last month!" I later recalled that he was the guy who fell on is face when the guy who was giving him a 2am piggy-back ride tripped and sent him face first to the ground. It was only when it was STILL a gaping wound the next morning that he thought maybe it needed medical attention.

Later in the tour, he had his gal take a picture of the two of us, and if he is true to his word, I am now on his Facebook page as the Coolest Doctor Ever.

Now, this may come as a surprise, but apparently his injury involved alcohol. I know, I know, the story didn't give that away AT ALL. As one of the volunteers put it after he heard the story, "Wow, that's really putting the ER back in BEER...." Our family really brings it full circle...

Spring has sprung!

I know, I know, it has snowed in May MANY times in the 18(!) years I have lived in Minnesota, but I think we have actually managed to have a nice and early spring! The hostas are peaking their little noses up out of the earth, the magnolia tree around the corner is ready to pop (please see circuslunch link to your left!). It hit 80 something yesterday, and there are buds on all the trees.

As Borat would say, That's NIiice.

The other little (read: could be VERY little) piece of good news is we have a showing this weekend that is going to be a "second look." Could be a whole lot of nothin' in the end, but there is one detail that makes me feel little better about this whole process. If these people end up being the one's that buy the place, their first look was the showing that occurred the weekend I was alone, working, and cleaning up 3 kids worth of vomit (when the babysitter wasn't doing it, that is). I truly wondered what I was smoking to say Yes to that showing.... wouldn't that be just lovely?

Leo's first big boy bath

Chores

Why am I sitting awake, blogging at 11:57pm when my husband is out of town and I am on full-time mama duty tomorrow? Why wouldn't I take this opportunity to turn it in early and get some rest? ... I can't explain it...

Anyway, this morning, Calvin got upset. HE wanted to feed the dog. HE wanted to let her out into the backyard. But, he was denied, because this is officially Max's chore. Feeding the dog twice a day, keeping her water bowl full (kinda) and letting her out to pee, is how Max earns his allowance. He does it, actually, quite well. So well, in fact, that if he isn't around, it takes me a bit longer than it really should to realize why the poor old lady is staring at me mournfully in his absence. "Hello.... I'm starving over here, though I hardly notice due to the impending rupture of my bladder...."

I explained to Calvin why this chore is officially his brother's purview, and it got him thinking. Now, thankfully, since he is only 3 1/2, he didn't wise up to the whole "Hey, I could get some money out of this deal?!?" But, God bless him, he wants a chore just because he wants to be helpful. How I DO love the almost-4-year-old outlook on life. 

I threw out "You could make the beds in the morning?" "YEAH! I'll make the beds!" said a delighted little man. He was tickled with his new found responsibility. Then Spencer, who had been listening to this whole interchanged, chimed in. "Mom, I know what I can do! I'll make popsicles!"

Now, the more I thought about this, the more it actually makes sense. I mean, his dad earns his keep every day going and making beer. Is it really that different? Why not give him allowance for popsicles? Who doesn't love popsicles?

I pondered these things as I walked through the house after the children's departure this morning, wandering past the empty water dish and unmade beds....

10 days and counting

We close on the new house in 10 days.

Please, sweet lord, will someone buy this house....???

Am I on the other side of the fence...?

Max is at school. The JCC is closed, but Leo is napping, and the twins are quietly occupying themselves by reading books side by side in the front room.

I am in the kitchen, blogging and drinking coffee.

Sweet mercy, we may yet survive this parenthood thing....

Couldn't have been nicer...

I gotta say, if you haven't had the pleasure of visiting Puerto Vallarta, you are missing out! If you like a town that is completely cloistered in touristy white cleanliness, then never mind... PV ain't your place. But, if you want to have a fabulous hotel, eat some incredibly delicious truly mexican food, speak English if needed, but be surrounded by locals that still assume Spanish is the primary language, this is your place. Most of the people vacationing around us were Mexicans, not Americans. It was relaxing, delicious, sunny, fabulous... Perfect.

Upon arrival

In the room's balcony hot tub (yes, I do have my suit on)

And, the Mexican wrestling masks we brought home for the boys...

You can't make it up

As I am making dinner tonight, this is what I hear:

(Scuffle, push, whine)

Max: OWWWWW!!

...pause

Calvin: (scream of outrage followed by crying)

Me: Boys...? What is going on down there??

Max: Calvin BIT me!

(stomp, stomp, stomp, here comes Mama...)

Me: Calvin! Why did you bite your brother??

Calvin: waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!

Me: Max, what did YOU do that caused Calvin to bite you?

Max: Cal and Spence were fighting, I was just breaking it up.

Me:...ok, so what did YOU do that has made him cry now?

Max: I squeezed him... as hard as I could....

Me: Max, you can't do that, even if he bites you... where did you squeeze him?

Max:... uhm... his head.

Who gets the punishment on this one???

Karma is good

So, remember the nightmare of last weekend? The barf, the showings, the full work schedule, the out of town hubby? Well, apparently, this has earned me a great karmic thumbs up.

My dear husband is wisking me off to Puerta Vallarta Friday morning!! It's been planned for weeks, but couldn't have come at a sweeter time. No kids, No snow, No barf (god willing)... nothing but me, my husband and a pina colada on arrival. 3 days of bliss, naps, sand, sun, People magazine and some good Oprah books. Even the 3 hour plane trip sounds fabulously peaceful and calming.

And thanks to my friend Megan, I will go ahead a clarify now: this is NOT the push for Ansari #5.

I LOVE YOU HONEY!!

The boys

Here are the latest of my little men... This is for Great Grandma and Grandpa Sheldon who don't get to see these guys as much as any of us would like.

Max

Spencer

Calvin

Leo

I will survive....

Ah, to have made it through to the other side! We have had no vomit for 24 hours, no diarrhea for about the same, and we are all back home...

As with many things in this life, you gotta laugh so you don't cry. This weekend, as I drove 3 of 4 sick children in a large circle around town so some random person could come look at our house that I just speed cleaned, the following heartbreaking, but simultaneously hilarious conversation took place.

(the scene is set in a smelly minivan, one child is instantly asleep upon moving, head lolling to the side like a rag doll, another is staring into space with a glassy stare, having just horked up his Tylenol onto his pants, another is cooing mostly peacefully after ibuprofen, and the healthy eldest one is jabbering fairly nonstop)

Me: Well Max, it looks like you are the only one left standing

Max: Yuuup!

Spencer: Mommy? (sniffle, sniffle, voice getting wavey) Why can't I stand?

Me: (giggling) Oh Spence, that doesn't mean you can't stand... it just means Max isn't sick. It's a turn of phrase.

Max: Mo-om (said like a valley girl), he doesn't know what "phrase" even means...

Me: Well this is how he learns. 

(10 minutes pass, Starbucks has earned more of my money)

Spencer: (heave sob from the back of the car) Mommmmmm! Why won't you let me stand too??? (tears flowing down the face). Why can only Max stand????

Ah.... where do you go from there...?

The saga continues...

Worked till 3pm, raced home to deal with the newly scheduled showing at 4:30. Cleaned the place, loaded 4 kids and dog in the car... I guess when you have 2 barfers, it is a success that there was only one episode of puking while we drove around waiting to get back into the house an hour later.

Please, please, oh merciful god, let someone buy this house...

The last 20 hours

10pm - Trying to get house in order for a 8:30am showing.

2am - "Mommy... I just barfed..." says Calvin. New comforter cover, new security blanket stand-in, new stain in the For Sale carpet

5:15am - 5:15am?? But my alarm was set for 4:30?? And why does my watch say 5:15am but my alarm clock say 3:15? I am so confused. *&@#$%##

5:20am - Power nurse

5:40am - In the car, grimy. Just a touch of bed head for the patients' enjoyment.

6:00am - 8 people waiting to be seen in the full ER. I'm yer gal...

7:30am - Call to assure Omar is awake and clearing out of the house with 4 kids and a dog. Call cut short by Omar saying "Oh no, Calvin just barfed milk everywhere..." We hang up.

1:30pm - Call from JCC - Leo has been in daycare 3 days... and has a temp of 102. That was quick...

2pm - Leave work, go get Leo, (leave Spencer there since he is still napping) come home to relieve Omar from Cal duty so he can return to brewery.

4pm - Call from JCC - Spencer feels bad. No fever, but looks ill

4:30 - Spencer barfs in the car on the way home.

Now, at 7:30 - trying to get kids into bed (solo... Omar is leading a brewery tour), and feeling like I will be thrilled if only I can make it to 9pm. Great news? Omar leaves town tomorrow...

Little man, meet Big Big World

It's official. Leo put on his big boy pants (well, actually I put them on him...) and started daycare yesterday. We lovingly refer to the Jewish Community Center as "camp" in our family. So, I am at the house this afternoon trying to do some much needed yard work while Leo, Cal and Spence are at camp. I keep feeling like I need to go check on someone. Anyone... 

Nope, I am here by myself. I haven't been alone in the house in 7 months.

And Leo was a rock star. He already has the ladies questioning if he is going to be stealing the designation of "happiest baby" in the room. He slept great in his camp crib (a feat we have yet to master at the house), and made me (despite having done this 3 times before) feel much more at ease with the whole process. It's easier the 4th time around, but that doesn't make it easy.

So, with that, I feel like the little baby faze is, yet again, behind me. It really does go so so fast.