Parenting From 16 000 KM Away

(That's 10 000 miles for my friends south of the boarder)

Tobes is freaking out at me this afternoon. He's up and down off my lap, he nurses and then doesn't. He's a non-napped, played-out baby. I am also non-napped, and a little played out. He finds the cordless phones, and hands it to me, squawking and screeching. I take the phone from him and he looks at me expectantly. I call my mom, put her on speaker phone, and both he and Princess have been happily occupied for the last half hour, leaving me completely alone!

It's kind of fantastic, and it took me way too long to think of it.

On one of Greg's recent trips away, I was trying to put Princess to bed with an over-tired Tobes. I called Greg (in China) just to vent. Tara begged to talk to him, and he ended up "reading" her a story, praying with her, and even gave her a count-to-ten snuggle while I nursed and put Tobes to sleep, all from 10 000 miles away!

I know it's bad to let the TV baby-sit your children, but what about the phone...?

Not Gonna Lie...

Tonight sucked.

I worked at the NICU today. It's not an easy job, but it has always been something I've enjoyed (not always the politics, but the work itself has been rewarding). I used to say that for every sad ending, we had 10 happier ones. The walls of the unit are lined with letters and pictures and even scrapbook pages of our graduates. Are they "normal" and healthy? Not always. But every time a baby is born at as little as 25 weeks (remember that normal term gestation is 40-42 weeks) and survives it's a miracle.

Sometimes we have really sad stories. I used to be able to be compassionate to the parents, but ultimately remove myself from the situation long enough to work on the patient and stay focused. It has become exponentially harder now that I have children of my own.

Tonight was just one of those nights. Today was a little sad, and tonight it was so much harder for me to remove myself from the situation. It was so much harder to leave work at work and not think about it when I arrived home. Tonight kind of sucked.

The thought that keeps me going is that every time I face these babies, I am just that much more thankful for my own. Pregnancies are miracles. But nothing is guaranteed. Healthy babies and healthy children are absolute miracles too.

Goodnight. I am going to go cuddle the absolute miracle I call Tobes.

Remembering What Matters Most...

It's kind of funny that this post follows one on my undomestication. And that I'm still working on my "New House Resolutions".

But I have had the day from hell.

Well, that's not entirely true. It's been a difficult day. It hasn't been impossible - the kids are (mostly) happy, and I had a few laughable moments (like finding an entire roll of toilet paper in the toilet... cardboard tube and all). But it's been a trying day.

I made the decision yesterday that today would be my day at home. Today I would catch up on laundry, I would do some baking, Princess and I would craft, and Tobes would get all the sleep he needed! I decided that I would continue on my journey to pack the house (28 days until possession!!!!!!!! GACK!!) and would be little Suzy Homemaker.

Until that all fell apart.

Tobes woke up 2 hours earlier than he should have, which meant that Princess woke up about an hour earlier as well (I can't wait until the bedrooms and the play room are on entirely different levels!) I spent an hour convincing Tobes to take his morning nap, and his afternoon nap didn't happen at all. Baking happened, sort of, only as a result of SHEER WILL and total cravings of meat buns (for my Ukrainian friends, think perishky). ONE load of clothes got washed, but I totally missed my opportunity to sun out some stains on several items. And not a single item was packed.


Instead I spent the day couch-bound, nursing a miserably tired Tobes, and reading to Princess, who was slightly bored after her exciting day yesterday (we had her friend birthday party at the zoo). And I was super-annoyed. I had such big plans for the today. I wanted to get so much done today. I didn't want to spend the day on the couch, I actually had the energy and drive to get stuff done!!


But at the end of the day, I realize that my "ruined" plans were ultimately all for them. I want to be a better homemaker for my children. I want to bake for them, and have nice, unstained clothes for them, and we're moving because our new house is far better than this one for them. And my plans were derailed today for their sake. 


Of course I still want to improve my housekeeping habits, but I need to learn to chillax when my schedule needs to be cleared for a day of snuggles...

New House, New Dreams

Thank you Anne Taintor!

Another house post, I know. But this has really encompassed my entire life this month. Today's post is brought to you by two gigantic updates from just today!!

First off, it's completely official - our house is sold. We just got the papers in saying that all conditions have been removed. We were on the market for just twelve days, had six showings, plus two repeat showings. We had an offer on the table Saturday afternoon, signed by Saturday night, and now all conditions have been removed. It's done!

Secondly, we've got a conditional offer on a new place!! And it's completely not what I expected! We were looking for newer houses (we like the style), which led us to a few different areas. The biggest problem was space. The houses were big, but the backyards were tiny, and new houses tend to be in new developments, which are, well, new. The schools, and even parks and playgrounds tend to be further away.

Instead we found an older home in an older neighborhood. Eight blocks away from the local school and community league, just down the street from a park. The back yard is HUGE and private, and the house had major upgrades!! It has a sitting room, diningroom, breakfast nook, HUGE kitchen, livingroom, fully developed basement (though there's room for upgrades down the road there) three bedrooms, and two and a half bathrooms (one being an ensuite).

It's a major upgrade all-around! We are SO excited to move into it!

***

On that note, I have such big dreams for ME in this new house. I am domestically challenged. Try as I might, the running joke is that I don't cook, and I don't clean. But I grow cute babies! And between me and my husband, we have a pretty great balance of working both outside and in the home, and raising said cute babies.

This might not be an issue for some, but for me, it is. It's not an issue because Greg shouldn't be helping out. I sung my husband's praises on Father's Day, because I felt he deserved it, but I expect him to be an active member of the family.

It's an issue for me because I always wanted to be a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom), and I've always wanted to be Little Susie Homemaker. I've always wanted to maintain an amazing home for my family, and to cook delicious meals, and craft and sew and raise babies. I do the latter three quite well, but it's the first two I want to work on. This has not been the first time I've attempted at making a change in this area. But maybe a new house will help to inspire me. And I want to host more playdates, parties, and gatherings in my home. I always felt too far out of the way in this house, and the layout wasn't ideal for larger groups. But for those who know me, you can only imagine how excited I am to host family Christmas this year ;) (For those who don't, I LOVE Christmas, and a few years ago I pulled out all the stops - including personalized, embroidered, handmade bird ornaments for each guest). I am excited for backyard barbecues, birthday parties, and just having friends and family over for dinner. I have some great hostesses in my group of friends, and I have been jealous. I would love to join the cool kids in that club.


I think this new house deserves some new-house resolutions! I have 35 days until possession of the new house to think of some ;)

Homeless!!!

... As my friend, the Common Sense Crusader kindly put it ;)

Our house sold on Saturday! It's still conditional on a home inspection and financing, but by the end of this week, if all goes well, we're sold! I'm not worried about the inspection - we have taken very good care of the house. And apparently the financing should be no issue as well.

So yeah... And now we have 46 days to find another house, buy another house, and move!

Eeeeee!!

LISTED!!

 

It's official, we listed at the beginning of this week. Papers have been signed, and we're even officially up on MLS. Now to play the waiting game... So far we've had 1 showing, but it's been a slow week all-around - the weather has been really nice and people want to go out and play. 

We're sitting on our hands, waiting for an offer to come in before we buy anything ourselves, so we're waiting on looking as well. I've seen a few awesome homes that are on our list, and I can't wait to be able to check them out :) 

Fingers crossed that this all happens soon! It's a bit of a PITA to keep the house in show condition with the littles running around!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - Farewell Rapunzel (Part 2)

 

I promise this was her own doing. Princess opted for a conservative 7 inches off her hair instead of the intended 10+. It means we couldn't donate, but she has a shorter, healthier, easier-to-maintain 'do!