Thursday, September 18, 2008

No more naps

FOR ME. Ryan is still napping, thank goodness. If I nap, then my nightime sleep is non-existent and I end up on the couch watching Sanford & Son. The last two days I didn't nap, and actually slept in my own bed, only waking up once or twice. Woo hoo.

Fall is coming and I cannot be more happier. I tend to "radiate heat" as Ethan would say when I'm pregnant and I'm always hot. I am also a person who needs a blanket to sleep, so I end up getting no sleep because I go between blanket and no blanket and its annoying. Yesterday it was only 77 at 5:00pm. Yay! We are planning our Halloween carnival for playgroup and I am doing a "station", and then we scheduled a pumpkin playgroup for Ryan's birthday as well. Poor kid, I'm sure it will annoy him when he gets older that his birthday is the day after Halloween, but as for now, he is too young to care so I"m gonna work it. I agreed to hold an October playdate and we picked the 30th. The next day I realized "duh, Ryan's birthday!!!!" Might as well do them together. I am hoping little pumpkins are cheap and we're going to do a pumpkin hunt in the backyard, and make pumpkins on paper using our fists and washable paint...OUTSIDE.

As for the house hunt, the inventory in the 3-4 neighborhoods we are looking in is low. We are supposed to see some tonight, but everything seems to say "needs some TLC" or "some damage." Well, everyone's definition of damage and TLC is different, and the realtors seem to be out there on what they will call "some." I've walked through a pot house, that was obviously a pot house, with added ducting, wiring, and aluminum foil on the windows. That house had no mention of needing any work at all. Totally move in ready. Then I've seen houses without any toilets, holes in walls the size of ME, exposed pipes in a bathroom that were from an obvious leak, homes where there was no padding under the carpet...like we aren't going to notice? And my favorite, "some water damage." Um, the house reeked of what at first I thought was cat pee, but then realized it was mold. We walked into the kitchen/family room and the entire ceiling was exposed to the upstairs. Rafters and all. Just a bit of water damage.

I drove through a neighborhood today that was never on our list because it is older, it was actually here when I lived here. We have been looking at areas that are 10 yrs or less. I was curious because I had babysat in that neighborhood before and I remember thinking it was cute. The houses are Cape Code style, I think they also call them salt box. The garages are not attached which at the time I thought was weird and my dad went on and on about how no one wants that. But as I drove through I fell in love. It is such a well maintained area, and some of the houses have the long driveway that can be fenced off, just like our favorite house that we bid on and didn't get. I like that they aren't modern or contemporary like every other newer neighborhood. They just have so much character. There is a school and park within walking distance which is always a plus. Something I did notice was that THERE WAS NOT ONE FOR SALE SIGN IN THE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD. NOT ONE. The neighborhood is basically a big loop, with courts that split off to the sides so I was able to see the entire area. So either no one is putting signs out, which sometimes they don't, or everyone in that neighborhood knows how to manage their $ and didn't buy a house they couldn't afford. I e-mailed the realtor and told her that its now on my radar and we'll see what she says.

In other news, I gag and almost throw up everytime I brush my teeth. I am still eating like 2 cows. My brother graduates from the policy academy on Saturday and I'm having 30-40 people over and my house looks like CRAP. I have the biggest house so I usually handle all the get togethers which is fine, normally, but my house has not recovered from the 3 wks of sickness. At least the old fridge is supposed to get picked up tomorrow, between 10-2...I hope its 10. It would be a bit embarassing to still have the old fridge hanging out. So, i've got a lot of cleaning to do. My sister is coming tonight to mop and clean the downstairs bathroom. I am taking Ryan to grandpa's tomorrow afternoon so I can clean the carpets. Good times. And now, its time to shower and start my cleaning before I have to pick Ryan up from school.

3 comments:

Liz said...

but you don't actually have to throw up right? i'm crossing my fingers that what goes down stays down.

Our Family of Four said...

Oh Liz your throw-up-aphobia kills me!

Back to you Brandi... I think the pumpkin ideas for Ryan's birthday are sooo cute! I also think a halloween b-day is cool, especially for a boy. He can have ghoulish parties every year!

Judy said...

Ohhhh Brandi-I totally feel you on the house hunt. I would have LOVED to find a noncookiecutter house, one with character, but the house we got is great in other ways.

It always seems like the prime neighborhoods have responsible people in them for a reason, you know. Hang in there and be patient-it will come.

**sending you good house finding vibes!**