Update

So, the last you heard, we were waiting for an offer on our place, a condo in downtown Chicago. I think it was the same day, definitely the same week, when we got it--an offer. Now, we had imagined that moment many times where we look at each and start laughing and doing the happy dance in our kitchen. But it didn't quite turn out that way. After we crunched some numbers and decided we could afford to sell it for the lower-than-we-wanted offer, we got the really bad news--she had an FHA loan. NOOOO!!!!!

We didn't really know why FHA was bad news, but we were about to find out. During the two months between accepting the offer and actually moving, there was no point when we could really embrace the fact that we were moving and get excited about it. Seth likened the whole experience to running through a war zone and dodging bullets. There were outstanding assessments, outstanding special assessments, lawsuits, etc. Our association was like cottage cheese. The building is solid (thanks to our rebuild), and the association was well run, but we didn't think a government agency would be able to see past all of that and actually approve our condo for the loan. But they did.

And then one hour later, three weeks before we are scheduled to move, we got sued. That's right--we got served. The Sheriff showed up at our door and served us, and our neighbors, with papers. It seems our developer never fully paid a plumbing company for all the work they had originally done on our building. The plumber had filed a lien and was now foreclosing on the lien. How did the FHA folks miss this? It seems he only sued us by name, and not PIN number, so when they ran a search, they missed it. Can you believe it?

Our attorney managed to get Chicago Title to agree to cover this lien, as we had title insurance, and the FHA lender didn't have a problem and agreed to fund the loan. So, two weeks out, we finally have assurance the sale is going to go through. But then, the next ball drops--the closing date we thought we had (6.4.10) was not possible. We needed to close on May 27. It's now May 20th. We don't have a place to live, as we were advised throughout this entire process not to put money down on anything, since we had no assurance that the sale was actually going to go through.

Seth takes a half day off work, and drives around Wheaton, Winfield, and Glen Ellyn and literally knocks on doors and calls numbers and actually found us a place to live. A real house!! That's also a long story, but suffice it to say it was a total God thing and we are very grateful.
We had 5 days to pack. I took the boys away and Seth packed for two days. Then we returned and Brice got sick. Like, pukey sick. They day before we moved, my parents took both boys and Seth and I stayed up all night packing, then moved, then unpacked in 2 days.

Whew.

quote

A child kicks its legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, Do it again; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough... It is possible that God says every morning, Do it again, to the sun; and every evening, Do it again, to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike: it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. --G. K. Chesterton

What to do, what to do...

This June marks our five year anniversary. We have been dreaming and thinking and pondering what to do to properly celebrate this momentous event. Five years and two kids, one nasty lawsuit, a leaky condo, two jobs at big law firms, and the like. So, at least to us, it's a big deal. One to be properly feted. Here's what we are thinking:

* London to visit dear friends and have a proper roasted dinner, lots of beer and curry and tea.
* Paris--we know no one and I speak just enough to humiliate us. But who doesn't love Paris??
* China/Hong Kong-- Seth grew up in China and is always itching for a visit "back home." We want to walk around, see the sights, absorb the vibe and EAT.
* NYC--we haven't been back since we moved four years ago. We want to go and visit old friends and eat (no big surprise there) at Burger Joint, have sesame ice cream in Chinatown, shaved ice in Koreatown, saganaki at Yanni's in Brooklyn, and dumplings at Wonton Garden.

The rub is that we will have precious little time. We strong-armed my parents into keeping the boys for two nights. I don't think we could do China or Singapore (oh, I didn't mention Singapore? The food...) on that time schedule. What will probably happen is that we will go to Saugatuck or perhaps, Leelanau Peninsula for a little getaway. That's ok. The big trips can wait. For now, it's just nice to be together.

Getaway

Our room at Hotel Palomar. I love the color scheme.

Don't you love the picture above the bed? Made to look like a mirror reflecting a very cool scene.

I'm pretty sure we were the first ones to stay in this room--don't you think?? I wonder if it even has batteries yet!

Relaxed and happy.

So we got away last night. Our good friend Dawn agreed to babysit overnight (!!) and we went to stay at the Hotel Palomar in Chicago. They are just opening and were running lots of specials, so we jumped at the chance to get away and treat ourselves.

Coincidentally, it was right around the corner from a restaurant we've been dying to try--XOCO. It's one of Ricky Bayless's places--street foody and casual. They only serve tortas and soups and desserts, but oh. my. goodness. It was amazing. Oh, and the churros. How I love churros! (Our churros consumption alone bumped us up to Executive Status at Costco!!) What a lovely way to spend an evening--good beer, amazing food, and churros. Oh, and no children.

Two months and counting...

Our place has now been on the market for two months. We were encouraged to put it on the market in mid-January so people could take advantage of the tax incentive that is due to run out in a month. So far, nothing.

We've had lots of open houses and showings, but not much interest. While I am thankful for the work our realtor is doing, it's a real drag. For one, your place has to be spotless. Try doing that with two kids. We had to rent a storage unit to get rid of a bunch of stuff so our place wouldn't look crowded. Then we have to haul all the toys into the storage place under our stairs every time there is a showing. The toys remaining in our place have to be picked up, neatly organized, and out of the way. "Looks bad with toys everywhere." That was a helpful piece of feedback, wouldn't you say? Plus, and here's the kicker, all the showings and open houses are in the middle of the afternoon, which means the boys don't get to nap. And y'all know how much fun little kids are when they are being dragged around and not allowed to sleep.

Here's hoping lightening strikes soon!!

Talk nice to me!!!

Brice. Oh my. That child. God has big plans for him; I'm convinced of it. I am determined to raise him right and teach him well. And apparently, Brice has the same plans for me!!

For the past six months, he has been correcting me and calling me out on any unsavory behavior. He even pauses in the middle of his tantrum, when I have raised my voice ever so slightly, to point his finger at me and proclaim, "mama, talk NICE to me!!!" All I can do is laugh. Sometimes. Other times I childishly point my finger at him and say, "no Brice, YOU talk nice to ME." We are quite a pair.

A few months ago, he started this:
He was in his highchair, throwing a tantrum. Instead of walking over and slapping him upside the head, I exhibited a tiny bit of self control and refrained. Instead, I did one of those really deep, annoying, self-righteous sighs. Over and over. Again, he paused, mid-tantrum and said, "mama, don't [really overdramatized deep, annoying, self-righteous sigh]. I cracked up. So did he. Now it's our thing. When I want to grab him by the scruff of his neck and throw him out into traffic, instead, I sigh. Deeply and loudly. Then Brice does the same. And we both laugh.

Trickle down attention span

I've never had much of an attention span. Except maybe for when I was really young. We had no computers (or any technology, really) and the amount of television and phone time we could have was severely limited. So I read. And played with my dog, listened to music, rode my bike, and hung out with my friends. I could sit for hours and read or just walk and daydream.

I can't really do that anymore. And I don't think it's just because of the kids. Although I blame them, primarily. I think partly it's lack of discipline to force myself to focus on just one thing. Too many magazines. Too much web surfing and emailing and a general lack of engagement with whatever or whomever I was actually engaging with (sorry for the poor grammar).

And of course having kids doesn't help. I'm rarely doing just one thing. Usually i'm doing several things at a time, and I hate it. I hate that feeling of never finishing anything--a task, a thought, a conversation. I often leave social situations riddled with guilt over all the conversations I couldn't finish with people. Did they think I wasn't interested in them or didn't care about what they were saying? I sincerely hope not.

I need to stop. To take more time to do nothing--constructively. To do nothing but read. Or write an actual (gasp!) letter. I don't have much alone time during a typical day. But I have some. The bills and laundry can wait (it pains me to say that). The computer can definitely wait. I need to figure out how to be present again--present to life, present to myself, and present to God.