Beer and Moving

Tonight Matt, Sam and I drove to Cashmere (about 10 miles into the mountains) and met up with some friends of ours from Montana that live here now. We had dinner at a great BBQ place and then went to a new brew pub and drank beer. It is a family friendly place that allows kids, even though it is a bar! I love it! We were the only ones with a kid though, but had a great time. It is an open place with nothing for Sam to get into, so he just walked around...AND there is NO SMOKING! Perfect for kiddos! I really enjoyed myself, drank a couple beers and actually had adult conversations all while being a mommy too. It is rare that you can do all that in a public place, especially on the west coast. We took Sam into the waiting area of a restaurant that had a bar in Seattle and they asked us to leave because it was technically a bar, even though it was also the waiting area for the restaurant! Anyway, this place is nice and I am sure we'll meet friends there again. Good beer too! Tomorrow we are moving out of the trailer and into the house. I am exited, but not looking forward to moving again. Ugh. It shouldn't take too long and we do have someone to watch Sam, that will help. But, ugh. I hate moving.

Freak Out

We closed on our house last week and since then I have been so busy working in the house trying to get some of the rooms painted before we move in this weekend. I managed to strip the wallpaper, prime and paint the kitchen (in a "tuscan" style), and paint both upper level bedrooms! Now I just need to strip the wallpaper in the upper level bathroom. Matt and I pulled most of it down already so it won't be too hard. I learned a trick from a neighbor: use fabric softener to remove the paper! Just wipe it on with a dry rag and then peel the paper. You can use it to get the glue off the walls too. There is no bad smell (unless you dislike fabric softener smell) and no real harsh chemicals. I spent all yesterday morning painting, then painting through Sam's nap. Matt met us at the house at 5:00 pm and we went to dinner, returned to the house and he took Sam so I could paint. I was refreshed and ready to get the last bedroom done; I had the Indigo Girls blasting and I was going to enjoy my time alone. As I was about to finish painting the trim, the music suddenly stopped. I thought it was strange so I waited a moment thinking maybe the cd skipped. Nothing happened and I started to feel an eery vibe. I stood up and walked into the hallway leading to the dining room. To my left was the dining room with the cd player and to my right was the living room and front door. I turned to see the front door wide open! I freaked out sure there was someone in the house. My heart pounding I called out, "Is anyone there?" Of course, no one answered. What intruder would? I ran back into the bedroom, grabbed my cell phone and then darted out the front door onto the lawn. It was still light out and I called Matt. Shortly thereafter, Matt arrived with Sam and he, with big metal flashlight in hand, went into the house to rid the house of mean burglars for me! Of course, there was no one inside. I overreacted, but it was pretty scary for a few moments. Needless to say, I went back to painting and finished later that night. This morning I am so sore and I have a cold...ugh! I think Sam and I will be really mellow today, do some laundry and maybe pack a few boxes for our big move across town tomorrow. Oh, Sam's new word is "doovray". I have no idea what it means, but he says it all the time. He is now walking 100% of the time.

Anniversary

Today is Matt's and my 5th wedding anniversary. It is strange to imagine what we were doing 5 years ago...and all of it childless! We have had a nice day...all day! I packed a picnic lunch and Matt, our friend Michel and Sam and I met at the new house and had lunch on the floor in the new dining room! It was fun. I bought Sam a used Radio Flyer wagon at a yard sale and I pulled him around the yard in it...he LOVES it! The afternoon went fast as Sam and I spent it in Home Depot buying paint and such...spending lots of money getting ready to make our house a home. Matt gave me a beautiful sapphire and diamond ring! What an amazing husband giving me such a lavish gift. I love it! I gave Matt 2 tickets to see Leo Kottke (his favorite guitarist) perform in Seattle in October. It is a weekend free of babes and wives! What a gift, huh? He is excited and I am glad he likes it! He deserves a weekend like that. Sam spent the evening with our neighbor, Cindy, while Matt and I had a nice dinner and spent some amazing time together without Sam! We even bought a small used truck! It was so fun driving it and bargaining with the seller! What a great way to celebrate 5 happy years as a married couple. When we got home, after 5 hours gone, Sam squealed with joy, nursed, rolled over and went to sleep! You really can't beat that!

Secret

Next Friday is Matt's and my 5th wedding anniversary. We decided to spend a little more money on each other this year seeing that it is a "big" one. However, I am having one heck of a time trying to figure out what to get him. Often, the money constraint makes it more challenging, but I don't have that problem this time. I am usually very good at gift giving and I am usually on top of things with the gift purchased weeks in advance. Not this time! Tonight I finally figured out what to get him and hopefully I can buy it tomorrow morning. Now, though, I have to wait until Friday to give it to him...ugh...I am terrible at secrets...and so is he! I have a good idea of what he is getting for me, but I am trying not to think about it too much, as he may not be doing what I think he is....I feel like a little kid on Christmas.

Truck!

I stayed up last night and FINALLY finished Harry Potter! I thought it was a great read, but was disappointed in the ending. I found it to be somewhat predictable; however, I loved Harry in this book! I thought he had a great attitude and I really enjoyed all of the characters as they have developed. Can't wait for the next (and last, right?) book! Yesterday was a fabulously "lazy" day. Sam slept in and for 2 hours and I was able to drink coffee and read in silence! It was so nice! Then he napped for over 2 hours later in the day and I layed in the hammock and read...(guess how I finished Harry Potter?)...in between his naps we played with the neighbors. We have been so lucky with our neighbors...honestly wonderful people. Cindy and her son C. are great. Sam and C. play so well together and Cindy is an avid reader and we talk about books and everything. She's awesome! During our playtime Cindy was standing near Sam as the recycling truck was picking up our recycling, and Sam pointed to it and said "truck"! I didn't hear him, but Cindy did very clearly! Sam amazes me everyday! He can now cross his index finger and middle finger on his right hand and spent the better part of Saturday doing this to his own great amusement. He can "drive" his car on his own and now walks 80% of the time! We found out today that we will close on our house next Thursday! 10 days earlier than we had originally thought. We are both very excited. I am meeting with our realtor tomorrow and will take some pictures of the house, so check the website (see link to the right) for updates! Sam and I had a playdate today with Monica and Sara and their kiddos. It was great. These women are very similar to many of the friends I had in Manhattan and they would have fit right in at the AP playgroups. I still miss all the AP women and kids so much, but today was great for me and for Sam. I rode my bike with Sam in the trailer today to Monica's and what a difference from riding in Manhattan! The hills and the wind (not so different). I was pooped after that ride...must have been at least 3 miles each way. Needless to say, it is only 7:30 and Sam has been asleep for a half an hour already!

Letter

When I think about myself 10 years ago I remember a person that just seems like she is not me. Today I recieved a letter from a woman I knew over 10 years ago. She was an amazing friend I have never forgotten, but lost touch with over the years...and here she is today, in my life again. I could cry with excitment and joy and anxiousness. I looked for her name on the internet hoping to find an email address, and instead found numerous websites about her career as a musician, a singer and songwriter, guitarist. She has a website of her own. As I typed in the address slowly her face appeared and then the handwriting I grew to recognize and longed to see in my family's mailbox 10 years ago, covered the screen. Now I must write her a letter, but I don't know where to begin or what to say. How do I express what I feel about this reunion? How do I summarize over 10 years of experiences?

The Bike Shop

The new Harry Potter book is driving me crazy! I am about half way through and all I can think about is sneaking away to read more. It is 5:30 am and I just woke to nurse Sam. After he returned to sleep I decided I'd get up and read! I am sacrificing precious sleep for this book! Can you imagine? (I know some of you can...Tara...) The night before last Sam woke up vomiting and continued to do so all night long. I slept with him in his room and what a night. I distinctly remember thinking, "This will not be the last time I am awake all night with a sick child." Yesterday morning he seemed to be feeling a bit better, no fever (non the night before either), but his appetite was definitely curbed...not like my son at all. We had a pretty mellow day, went to the Farmer's Market and stopped by a bike shop right next door. As we were wondering around checking out these cool new cambering vehicles called Trikkes ( www.trikke.com ), I notice Sam sitting on the floor and he seemed distressed. I kept a close eye only to notice moments later a fine ooze of poop running out of his diaper legs (yes, that is plural, out BOTH legs) onto the bike shop floor! I was so embarrassed and sad for poor Sam! Matt and I quickly performed diaper cleanup on what had become the equivalent of a super fund sight! The store owner was, fortunately, a woman and mother and completely understood and dawning her traditional yellow rubber cleaning gloves and a bottle of Simple Green, she cleaned the floor for us. He continued to have these nasty poops all day and by the evening his appetite returned. He slept great last night. I can only imagine it was a small bug or he ate something that didn't agree with him. Poor guy! We are off to Seattle today to visit a friend from Manhattan, Ze. He is in town for a conference and we aren't sure when we will see him again, so we decided to make the drive over "the hill". I am looking forward to a day out of Wenatchee, even though I really like it here, a change of scenery is always nice. Well, back to Harry Potter...what a punchy little bugger he is this round...