Home
We are completely out of our old house… finally. It just took professional movers, three truckloads of miscellaneous crap, multiple trips to work on cleaning, and a final farewell to our neighbors across the street. I can’t believe it, we are finally home.
Next plan of attack on house/life 2.0 is to find an architect. We are going to a seminar next month held by the AIA on how to find the perfect architect. Our hopes are to have one picked, and plans drawn in the next six months. For now we have a garage full of boxes waiting for their chance to enter our new place. I guess I better get a move on it.
Last Tuesday...
A little over 5 years ago Jeremy and I lived in a two-bedroom apartment in the U-District. I walked to work, and Jere commuted to the airport when not working out of the apartment. I was lucky enough to come into some money and we decided it was time to buy a home. Getting into the market was only one of our concerns- mainly... we wanted a dog.
We found a new development being built in Silverlake (near Mill Creek), deciding our money would go farther outside of the city. We moved in April of 1999. Commute time about 35 minutes each way with normal traffic. I would drive half way and carpool the rest. Hoover became part of our family, a ten-month Lab/Dobie/Shepard mix that won over our hearts at the Humane Society.
The year 2000 brought more traffic... and my commute time increased to nearly an hour each way during heavy traffic days. Jere's travel schedule increased meaning more trips to the airport, and having to leave our house at the crack of dawn. We got married in May, no longer the non-married heathens of the neighborhood.
Over the next few years traffic increased, housing development after housing development was put in. No updates on the exit to our road making it the hardest part of the commute. It could take up to 45 minutes to just exit the freeway.
We decide that it was time to start a family and we had Finnagen Forrest on September 14th 2003. No longer carpooling, my commute could be anywhere from one hour to 2.5 hours each way. We could not do it anymore. Finn deserved time with us (outside of commuting). Jere would wake up at 3 in the morning to get to his flight early enough... this all had to end.
Spring 2004 we decide we were done. We hated where we lived. We deserved better, we deserved to be closer to our friends, my parents, my work, the airport, and Finn's daycare. Jere put up a perfect description of our house on forsalebyowner.com and we crossed our fingers. Ten minutes. We sold our house in ten minutes to the first people thru the door. We got our asking price, and they are a perfect young newly engaged couple... ready to start their lives together.
We found our new home in Seattle. A little bungalow in Maple Leaf, it is perfect. I will be 7 minutes away from Finn's daycare, 7 minutes from work, and Jere will be 30 minutes to the airport. Our plan is to add on and remodel the whole thing... crazy... but it will then be the perfect house.
We outlasted the majority of the people in our neighborhood. One set of neighbors got divorced (oops, husband got caught with the children's live-in Nanny), the other divorce was due to the wife deciding she liked women better, and then there was the other young couple with two kids... he decided to move the girlfriend into the house (never a good bet, keep the girlfriends out if you don't want the wife mad). So we are leaving... not for any tragic reason... we are leaving for sanity reasons. We still love each other, we are still married, and neither of us knows about any girl/boyfriends...
Today is the last Tuesday. The last Tuesday I will ever have to commute, the last Tuesday Finn will have to spend quality time with his mommy in the car.
So Close
Next week we sign the papers on our new house. Next week we will be moving to Seattle. Next week our lives will greatly improve. I can't wait for next week.
What about 2.0?
What if children aren't like Lays potato chips... maybe you can have just one.
Growing up I always wanted another kid in the house. Siblings are built-in playmates, accomplices, and scapegoats. If I wanted another kid in the house wouldn't Finn? Would we be robbing him of an important relationship in his life if we didn't have another child?
Everyday I watch Finn grow into a more independent, adorable, lovable boy. He really is a perfect child- he compliments us well. My pregnancy was easy, delivery uncomplicated, may be I shouldn't press my luck with another. Is it even possible to love another child as much as we love Finn?
I know we don't need to make any decisions now; we have years to make up our minds on kid 2.0. It just feels like we need to make some plan...
Tan me
I have been trying out the whole spray on tan thing. Only takes 7 seconds, no UV damage, really seems like a pretty great idea. Really, who doesn't want to look tan? However there does seem to be one major design flaw... makes me want to pee... badly.
You step naked into a booth that is shaped like a shower. Liquid is squirted onto your skin as you stand there, arms out, legs spread. The problem-even if I go to the bathroom before hand, I have to pee the second I stand in the booth. Maybe it is the shower shape or the warm liquid spraying on my body. Every time I think- can I pee, who would really know? There are drains on the floor so it would just drain away right? Would there be some sort of chemical reaction between the tanning spray and urine, staining everything a funny color? What if there is a pee alarm? Could they smell it once I got out?
Someday I won't be able to hold it... and you could be the one getting into the booth after me.
Gluttony
A few of us got together to celebrate the birth of our friend Jim. The evening was full of booze, food, alcohol, chow, oh and did I mention there was eating and drinking. Gluttony aside... happy 35th Jim, love you monkeybutt.
Correlation
Last Thursday Janet and I took Finn to the playground in the center of U Village. He had a blast playing with the little plastic scooters, pushing them around, holding on tight as I pushed and pulled him about. He carefully dismounted the plastic scooter and lovingly patted the seat to show me what a little scooter-riding stud he is. Then, in what seemed to be slow motion, Finn bent down and licked the seat of the scooter. Yes the seat of the public scooter- the seat that has seen poopy disease ridden diapered little dirt mongers. My perfect little precious CLEAN baby just licked a scooter seat. After Janet and I wiped away the tears of laughter (in our eyes) we scooped up little dude and left the cootie, now moist scooter behind.
Friday morning Finn woke in a great mood. Breakfast consisted of banana, oatmeal, and his first taste of nectarine. Within two minutes Jere and I watched what seemed to be a rash form... from the nectarine perhaps. Little red dots, not raised and only on his right side. Ear, cheek, arm, and leg... multiple little red marks. Must be the nectarine; sorry dude no more nectarine for you.
Today Finn goes to the pediatrician to get checked out (daycare needs a note that says his "rash" is not contagious before he can return). Jere calls me at work with the update... After his exam in the car, the nurse took them into the back of the office (so as not to expose the clean/pure coughing barfing sickly kids in the waiting room). Nurse seems a bit worried (as always seems to be the case) and Jere waits for the pediatrician. The pediatrician carefully looks at Finn, noting all the red spots. Not pox, not measles, nothing contagious. Just bug bites. WHAT THE????
So this is what it has come down to. Bug bites. I am sorry but there has to be some correlation... licking nasty scooter seat has to equal nasty red spot rash thingy on baby skin. HAS to be! If not that means my adorable perfect little baby boy was practically eaten alive by bugs... and I didn't do a thing to save him! My god, the insanity, the horror, the inhumanity of it all.