Resourceful or White Trash?

Or is my makeshift clothesline just really funny?

I Have A Problem

They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

So, here I am and I have a problem. You see, I'm really, really grumpy/depressed/stressed.

Now, I guess I'm on the road to recovery. That was easy.

Next step? Get over it. This is the not-so-easy part.

I'm pretty sure my reasons are justified, but I'm also pretty sure no matter the reasons, I have plenty more reasons to be happy. I'm trying, I really am. It doesn't help that part of this stems from moving. I am still trying to convince myself I don't regret it. Someone please tell me that once we get unpacked, we stop finding surprises around the house, we find a renter, etc., that I won't regret this. Having buyer's remorse after purchasing a new house is not a good feeling.

Oh, but don't you worry world, Clara still loves me. Straight from her mouth: "Mom, I still love you. Even if you peed in a cup." Maybe I should stop letting her come to my OB appointments.

But where's the fun in that?

A Skirt

If you're wondering why, despite the fact that I'm exhausted and it's nearing 1am, and I'm blogging instead of going to bed, read on. I am not a fan of maternity clothes, most particularly the "bottoms" (i.e. skirts, pants, etc.) It seems nothing fits me well. Ever. The bands are normally too tight, which squish my stomach out the top, and the bum/hip area is too big. Usually, I just deal with the discomfort. Rachel has a skirt from Old Navy that would be a perfect maternity skirt. It is stretchy fabric that would fit nicely under a belly and stick with it as it grows. Off I went to Old Navy to get my very own. I'll spare you the lame-accountant details of the story, but the bottom line is, I didn't buy it. So, I've been looking for a skirt like that since then, and had no luck. I have one pair of pants that are super comfy (and aren't even maternity), but no skirt or shorts. With Clara, this didn't really bother me because I didn't wear casual clothes very often. But now I do. And if you haven't noticed, summer has decided to hang around here extra long so I've been going crazy not having anything cool to wear that is super comfortable.

However, when I saw 5 yards 0f jersey knit heather gray fabric at Wal Mart tonight for $5 it instantly yelled to me, "Buy me and I can become the skirt you've been searching for!!" It is the perfect material, one of my favorite colors and $1/yard? Awesome. I bought it, did a little research for patterns online (no luck) and decided to wing it. I don't sew much, so this was a bit risky. Between a dress I have and my super comfy pants, I managed to create my skirt. Appearance wise, it's no Amy creation, but I am overly happy with the way it fits and how comfy it is. I'm so excited. Like really, really excited, that I have a casual, cool, comfy thing to wear until things cool off around here.

I made the waist band extra tall so I can pull it up around my belly or fold it down. I like it better folded in half, but here you can see the potential - full belly coverage.
And here's the whole thing. I didn't even have to hem it - see, perfect material.
Now you'll probably see me wear this as much as Clara wears the purple skirt I made for her... almost every day. :)

Not Following the Plan

I had a productive day that included unpacking, cleaning, organizing, showering, going to the Dentist, shopping at Costco*, resting, starting a pumpkin craft with Clara and making dinner. I was all prepared to put a very tired Clara to bed early so I could good clean the kitchen, do some more unpacking and blog. Instead, Kathryn reminded me of Ballet Under the Stars and I knew Clara would love to go. It's really hard for me to not follow "the plan" and just forget all the things I need to do. But deep down, I knew there's always tomorrow for Clara to shower and to catch up on sleep and dirty dishes can hang out for a day in the sink, but now is the best time for memories. We stopped and got Lily and then went to Fountain Hills for the event. I tried to go a few years ago and showed up just as it was over. But this year, we enjoyed some ballet under the stars. I enjoyed the performances for about 20 minutes. After that, I was too engaged watching Clara bunny hop down a hill and dance her little heart in the grass. Even incredible ballet performances can't beat that. *Shelf Reliance is the special event right now at the Costco in Mesa on Sossaman. I love their product, but it's SO expensive. However, the prices they are running for this event seem pretty awesome. Sure, cans stack (sometimes) but I realized now that I actually have a real pantry (kind of) that stacking cans makes it hard to rotate. Here's the flyer the sales rep, Kim, gave me.

I want a few of the Pantry Consolidators because a.) they'll fit in my pantry and b.) it's the most bang for your buck. Unfortunately, she doesn't have any of those right now, but will be at another East Valley Costco (either San Tan or Arizona Ave.) in the next month and will take your name and number and call you when she has them. The prices on this flyer seem to be lower than even their own website. If you've been wanting some of these, go see Kim, she'll only be there until Saturday.

Slow and Steady

Things are almost starting to settle down around here, although we still have lots and lots of work to do at both houses. It just feels like there is an end in sight. I've even made dinner two nights in a row. I did, however, spend five hours at my parent's yesterday doing laundry from the last three weeks. I forgot to mention in my previous post that our dryer cord doesn't fit in the outlet and there's apparently no safe adapter available. We are still considering our options and will probably end up putting our washer and dryer back in the old house and buying a new set. Too bad actually going to the store to look for them takes time and energy. For now, I'm grateful I have my parent's house. Especially since it was there that Clara asked, "Why you can still push me high with your fat belly?" as I pushed her in the swing. For now, I'm off to bed. The guest bed, that is. Jason and I still haven't slept in our bed since we've moved in. But, I finally got the sheets washed so by the end of the week, I might find time and energy to put them on. Slow and steady wins the race. Right? Anyone want to place bets on what I'll actually accomplish (other than getting fatter) in this house before this baby is born?

Oh, Goodness

The last 10 days have been interesting. We* packed, we* moved, I was sick, we unpacked (kind of), we found out we have an underground gas leak, worked as usual, switched the lock on our mail box, Cox couldn't get our Internet working for a week (I promise I'm not obsessed with the Internet, but working from home without the Internet is borderline impossible), went to the park (had to do something fun), had a garage sale, only got 3 hours of sleep because of said garage sale, Jason sealed our house, I finished and mailed off 12 tax returns, watched Jason and Kathryn play a softball game, went to my "fake" 10 year reunion, cleaned some of our old house, had dinner with some friends I haven't seen since high school, went to our new Ward and spent lots of time trying to figure out how we can pretend our tile, cabinets and countertops aren't peach.

*When I say we, my involvement mostly implies watching. I felt extremely helpless moving in this pregnant state of mine. Thankfully, we have good friends and family to make sure everything still got done.

It's probably no surprise that Barbie kept me laughing, smiling and keeping things in perspective all the while. Here's some of her finest over the last week:

Clara tried to interrupt Jason and I in the car so I asked her to wait until our conversation was done. When we finished, I asked her what she needed and she said, "I had to eat my booger because I couldn't wait for you to get a Kleenex." Awesome. We told her it was disgusting, while trying to hide our laughter, and she said, "Well, I will take it out. It's stuck in my tooth... wait, I can't find it." I couldn't decide if I was glad or disgusted she couldn't find it.

After getting a little skin scraped off her arm, C: Where'd my skin go?

Some of Clara's prayers have been really, really heartfelt and LONG in the last few months. In one, she said, "Please bless that our hearts will be full of love."

Wednesday morning I was incredibly stressed with having to do payroll, all the tax returns and still not having the Internet. I was sitting on the floor and Clara came up behind me, wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her cheek up to mine. I told her I was sorry things had been so crazy and that I'd been so stressed and promised after I got home from work that day, things would be better and I wouldn't be so stressed. She looked at me with her sweet little face and asked, "So then I can do bad things and it won't stress you out?"

Zoo Schmoo

It's not every day you find a giant tortoise in your front yard...
I think this marks the most exciting discovery yet at our new house. I hope he escapes and comes for a visit more often.

I'm A Failure

I just ate 16 tootsie rolls and I'm blogging instead of packing and cleaning. One would think I have no self control in any area of my life. But one would be only partially correct. I could've eaten a Haagen Dazs bar or a 600lb Gorilla ice cream cookie sandwich (thank you, Costco), but I just stuck to the tootsie rolls. And, my body is so sore because I packed and cleaned and was on my feet almost all day long. My feet hurt, my muscles are stiff, my back kills and my hips make me feel old and frail. I don't want sympathy, just making sure you know I'm not completely lazy for not packing tonight.

Plus, there's too much activity in this head of mine. I gotta let some of it out.

First up, The Grateful Day of Bramma. Saturday, my mother came over and a.) kept me from sitting on the couch for five hours straight and b.) helped me pack. I think she should be in charge of my moving plans. After all, she had to pack her 4,300 SF house and her six kids to move out of state all by herself since my dad had already started his new job. That night, Clara's prayers included, "thankful for the grateful day of Bramma..." It was a grateful day indeed.

Meet A Neighbor. Today we went to the new house to clean. One of the neighbors was out mowing his lawn and came over to say hi. We visited for a long time and I felt all warm and fuzzy knowing we have nice, friendly neighbors. Even if their grandchildren are Clara's age. Oh, and his business partner? My parent's neighbor. Small world.

Irrigation. I am so excited to have irrigation. Even it means scorpions, it also means CHEAP water for our lawn, bushes and the plethora of trees. Something for little kids to enjoy is just a bonus. Clara got her first taste of it today, since it just happened to be irrigation day. However, the best news I got today was that we don't have to turn it on. Our HOA handles all of it, even paying the annual fee. No remembering the day and time and then waking up in the middle of the night, worrying if there are scorpions in the irrigation boots and trudging out to the back corner of the yard to turn the water on/off. Sweet.

Smells. We cleaned a lot today at our new house. I love having my mom's help. And since Lily was there to keep Clara entertained, I was able to get stuff done. Between the smell of cleaner and the air fresheners I bought, the house already feels more homely and I am that much more excited to make it our home. Once it's cleaned, painted and has our stuff in it, I won't know any different. Right? Speaking of the house, here are some pictures. A few disclaimers: I did not take these pictures, they are from the MLS listing, and the property has been vacant for several months, so everything is overgrown. The peach/washed out kitchen? No excuse for that. :)

Joy/Clara. Quick, write a letter to Roget, Merriam or Webster and let them know I have identified a new synonym. My goodness. Sometimes my heart feels too full. I wonder how it's possible to feel this much joy and then worry that it won't last long. But the truth is, life is meant to be enjoyed. Heavenly Father wants us to be happy. Sure, some circumstances make this easier than others, but I can't help but cherish and soak up days like today. The kisses, the hugs, the smiles, the giggles and the imagination are all part of the experience. Tonight I put Clara's hair in curlers for her first day of preschool tomorrow. She kept saying "I'm so cute" and didn't want to lay down in fear that she'd mess her hair up. It's so fun seeing her get so excited about something so simple.

More of the joy comes from listening to the things that come out of her mouth. Some of my favorites from today...

We were eating Tootsie Rolls and Clara asked me what the wrapper said so I told her. She said, "Mom, this isn't good. They put a toot on here."

We tested out our doorbell at our new house. It's the kind that chimes on for about 10 seconds, but it's not a sharp chime and it's not very loud. We rang it, then went inside and it was so subtle that Clara didn't realize it was ringing. I said, "Shh, listen" so she could hear it and she got really excited and said, "I want some ice cream!" She totally thought the doorbell was an ice cream truck. Ha!

Monday

So it begins... I have to get serious about this packing and cleaning business, which means some things must go to the end of the line. When we are all moved in and I magically find hours and hours of spare time (ha ha), I have a very lengthy list of things I still intend to post about...

- my dad's cousin Carol's visit (pretty sure that post is already typed, just need pictures)
- Rachel's post-reunion visit
- the drama we encountered during the last 10 days prior to closing on our house
- Clara's dance class
- my bug-infested, but incredibly delicious, broccoli cheese soup
- the cute little baby toads that have overtaken our front yard
- choosing to become a two house family again
- house tour
- the funny things Clara says (this morning she crawled into bed with me, patted my belly and said, "Fat jelly belly" and giggled)
- my goal to read literary classics... one and a half down, lots more to go
- missing Jason's reunion
- things I will miss when we move
- things I look forward to when we move

What'd We Do??

Mostly, I'm excited to move. When I got the final call from our realtor saying he'd been given permission to give us the key, I felt giddy.


However, sometimes I have little panic attacks. Can we really afford this house? Should we really be moving? Why'd we buy a house in this economy? How am I going to pack and unpack and clean two houses while I'm pregnant with barely enough energy to make it through a day? (Okay, I already know the answer to that one... friends and family :)). Why am I leaving my quaint little house? Will I like my new house? Will I like the neighborhood? Will I meet friends? What if Jason loses his job? What if we can't find a renter? Am I really willing to make the necessary sacrifices I'll need to? Should we have just bought new furniture for this house? Do I really want to have to stick to a budget again? Would I really rather live in a house that reminds me of my older sister's room in the late 80's/early 90's than my small house that looks nice? Will I be too stressed? Am I okay getting an older used car when we get a bigger car? Etc., etc.


Plus, I sit in this little house of ours and get a little sad. This house is so cozy, has nice coloring and is so simple and so manageable. I know the noises, I know the cracks. I know it's quirks and how things work around it. It's full of so many memories. It's the only place we've lived since we've been married, it's the house we brought Clara home to and it's so familiar.


Am I really ready for a bigger house, more responsibility and all this change? Probably not, but I don't think I would ever be. We obviously never planned to stay in this house forever and considering the circumstances, it was a great time to move. The longer we're here, the harder it will be to leave and at least Clara isn't in school yet. When we considered the price of the house, the low interest rates, the location, the potential and the fact that we'd be moving at some point in the future anyway, it seemed like a very good decision. Most importantly, it felt like the right decision. When I let it, that feeling replaces uncertainty with comfort and I'm back to feeling excited about this big change.

We're trading in money for space and location, crickets and toads for scorpions, desert for city, two citrus trees for a mini citrus grove and familiarity for change and new opportunities. It'll be an adventure!

Just Peachy

When I was a waitress, there was a sweet, little old lady that would come in daily. Every single time I asked how she was, her high-pitched scratchy voice gave the same reply: "Peachy keen, and you can't beat that!" Her enthusiasm made it obvious she believed every word.

We finally closed on our house today (after a very interesting, yet somehow not surprising, 10 days) and my first thought was, Peachy!

I haven't decided if my thoughts were inspired by my optimistic 80+ year old customer or the interior colors in our new house. Because you can't all enjoy the full picture of being in the house, here's a little breakdown of the interior colors:
brick red - 1% (don't ask)
seafoam/mint green - 4%
white - 35%
peach - 60%
This is the only room with walls that green color, so don't let the picture make you think my color ratios above are incorrect. :) Oh, and lest you think I'm exaggerating on the peach, that tile on the fireplace is the same color as the tile on the floor - it just doesn't look like it in the picture.

My mom says, "Just call it beige."
My sister says, "I wouldn't move into this house without replacing the tile first."
I say, "Welcome to Peach Land."