The past few months have been extremely stressful.
First, we had to prepare the house to go on the market — new front stairs, small repairs, clutter removal, new bathroom. Then we made the huge commitment to actually move. We had to decide on a price in a very tricky market. Then, we had to wait. We've had two open houses. I've discourage the boys from starting very creative, but messy projects. I've kept the house in far better condition than usual. Every morning, the bathroom vanity is wiped clean, beds are made, dishes put away. With two hours of daily cleaning, I've feel like a 50s housewife.
We've been looking at other homes, but haven't found something that we love and can afford. We walk into homes and try to image our stuff there. If I take down the floral wallpaper boarders and remove the ill-hung, lace curtains, could we be happy here? Will it be our home? Where can I put the bookshelves? I feel like an exposed crab testing out future shells.
The boys have been thriving lately. Jonah came home yesterday with a huge smile saying that his teachers complimented his work and he received applause from the students twice that day. In his English class, he teacher told them to write a sentence about summer that included three unrelated words or phrases. His sentence was:
As the hot sun beat down on me, the sound of flip flops clapping on the boardwalk seemed to be the tune [that] the fiddler crabs were dancing to on the sand beside me.
Not bad for an eleven year old.
Ian, still high from his success at his First Communion, has been talking up a storm. I silently count the words in his sentences. He's making eleven word sentences now. We've increased his after school activities significantly. On Sunday, he has art class. On Mondays, he goes to a social skills class. On Tuesday, we travel way too far for a new speech class. On Wednesday, he has swimming class. As his confidence grows, he makes leaps in development. Success breeds success.
To manage the boys' schedules, the color coded calendar is God. I try to squeeze in dinner prep and homework. Sometimes Jonah does his homework in a waiting room of the speech therapist's office. Sometimes Ian is ripped away from his Lego to take Jonah to soccer practice.
I try to carve out time every day for my stuff. I need my own successes, too.
Apt. 11d 
Way to go 11D BOYS!
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Where can I put the bookshelves?
This is always one of the first things I consider when looking at an apartment. I don’t think the problem is likely to get easier.
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“This is always one of the first things I consider when looking at an apartment. I don’t think the problem is likely to get easier.”
Beware open plan houses. The lack of usable space may be at least one explanation for why houses got so big during the bubble.
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Beware open plan houses.
Yes- my current apartment has much more floor space than the one I had in NYC before I moved where I am now, but is not easier for dealing w/ my book shelves because the big empty space in the middle of the living room isn’t so wonderful for putting a shelf (or a desk, or pretty much anything I own.) Even my cat would rather run from room to room than in the big empty space in the middle of my apartment.
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I love those big empty spaces (especially when you have kids who like to hang out in them). We have an open floor plan, and it does mean that the house usually looks messy (in my fantasies it would look like one of those endless lofts, but in reality it doesn’t), and that the house is a lot bigger. But, I like the spaciousness and being in the same space while the kids are playing without feeling closed in. True that there’s less space for bookcases (a constant problem around here) and art, though.
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phew! I feel tired just reading this. It’s awesome that the boys are doing so well! Keep us posted on the house situation.
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