Yesterday, was somewhat of a "Moving Up" moment for me. We got to go back to the old house and see all the changes. BTW, in case you haven't seen "Moving Up" on HGTV, there are 3 sets of people who sell their houses (or something like that) and they all go back and see how much their old houses have changed. I was excited to see it because I knew the people wanted to paint all the rooms in colors other than the beige we'd had.
I left my cell phone number with the girl who moved into our house (I think it's funny I call people my age "girls" instead of "women") and she called to tell me that they had some mail for us that didn't forward, and also a plate of Olivia's that was in a cabinet, and also some dish towels that were way back in a drawer, so she asked if we wanted to come over and get them. It felt odd driving back through our old neighborhood and even weirder knocking on my own door. I was shocked to see dark green walls in the living room (the color, according to the girl, was "Avocado") and the dining room was dark red. I thought it looked good. It was awesome to see my house in colors I never would've been bold enough to try. We talked for a while, and invited her to join my moms' group. We've always chatted away each time we've seen each other (closing, on the phone, and then yesterday) so I wouldn't be surprised if I saw her again. They have a toddler and are expecting another one, just like us, so it's weird to see a family in there that so closely resembles us.
Olivia has settled down. She keeps asking questions to reassure herself that they'll be some consistency in her life. Whenever we leave to go somewhere, she asks, "I come back to Grammie's house?" and this morning, she told me, "This my bed. This my pillow." We've had to make a time-out corner here at my parents', and it's been used more here than ever at home, but I think having the same rules here helps give Olivia the same structure she's used to.
I need to transfer some pictures onto this computer so you can see my ever-growing belly. My sister told me that I'm as big as some full-term women she sees at the hospital. I'm already outgrowing my maternity clothes because I am so freaking huge. And I have 3 months to go. I am miserably uncomfortable, so I am thinking of scheduling a massage next week. Last week, I got my hair cut after something like 7 months, so I'm trying to take care of myself a little more. I love my new cut BTW! I went to a new guy recommended by a friend, and he told me I had sexy hair. :-)
Oh, forgot to mention that we did end up with the side-by-side fridge. I'm still worried about having enough room, but our old fridge, which is plenty big, is going in the garage, so we'll have extra room if we need it. We also bought our new bedroom suit, dining room table and china cabinet, and also a coffee table/end tables. This afternoon, I'm going to get stuff for Olivia's "big girl" room, but something tells me she'll still be sleeping with us for a while, which is fine. I don't want anymore big changes for her right now, which is why I backed off when she decided she wanted to stop going in the big girl potty. It's likely she'd revert back anyway with the little guy coming, so we can resume potty training when the time is right.
Well, off to go shopping. I'll try and get some pictures up later.
Posted by Hannah at March 2, 2008 12:28 PMThat's fun to see how someone else has interpreted your old space! So did it gave you courage to use bold colors in your new house? Just curious.
I haven't written much about it, but moving was the perfect time to move MrMan out of our bed. He'd been sleeping with us pretty much up until then (at a little over two years). I was hesitant to introduce yet another change - with moving houses, no longer living with his grandparents, the departure of his nursery school teacher, an impending move to a new nursery school all-together. But he was so psyched about his "new house" and his "own room" that he transitioned into his own bed pretty smoothly. Just throwing it out there that it might be worth a try, especially so you can get some good rest before the baby comes. Kind of a way to establish a new normal.
It must have been fun doing all that furniture shopping! Although I *totally* hear you with the 'uncomfortable' part. It seems like second pregnancies are *SO MUCH HARDER!* I've been uncomfortable since I started showing, which was like 5 seconds after I found out I was pregnant. I am also SO freakin' huge this time, and given that we're still in the throes of Summer here - my feet are SO swollen all the time - it's horrible! I have exactly 6 weeks and 2 days until my scheduled c-section and honestly I'm *seriously* looking forward to it, not just to meet my new son, but heck - to not be pregnant anymore! I feel bad moaning and complaining like this but my backside has been seriously kicked by this pregnancy, enough so for me to say that I'm like 99% sure this will be our last one, I just don't see myself going through all this again. Plus my awesome obgyn is giving me a courtesy tummy tuck, so who'd want to mess with that!?
As for potty training the bubby, we're also taking it slow. There seems to be little point forcing the issue right now, while he's getting a sibling in just 6 weeks, plus we've just redone our spare room into his new room - which he was totally buzzed about 'getting the *big* bedroom'. But then when we started making over his old bedroom into the new nursery, I could tell he was a bit unsettled about it. He's had some minor successes with the potty (totally surprised us one day by taking off his own trousers/pullup and doing No.1 all by himself without us even asking him, but then he just doesn't seem interested right now with all the other stuff going on. As with everything else, he's always shown us when he's ready for something, and I'm sure potty training will follow the same pattern once we're settled with the new baby. One thing he also did that amazed me, was after hubby and I got back from Australia, we decided to try him in his big boy bed (as opposed to his cot) and he took to it from the very first night, no stress, no hassle, no climbing out and toddling down the passage - it's amazing sometimes how your own kids will surprise you with how cool they can be. Why not try OBC in a big girl bed and she what she does? She may surprise you, and it will make life a bit easier when your son comes along. Anyway, of course it's up to you, and you will know best what suits your family :)
Posted by: Rainbowfudge at March 3, 2008 04:10 AMI love that show! It must be a strange experience to go back and see your home now also someone else's home.
Posted by: Ani at March 5, 2008 01:57 PM