What have we done?

Everyone, meet Gus. He is our new 9 week-old Goldendoodle. His full name is Gustafson (because we live in Minnesota now, dontcha know?). He's black now, but he'll his coat will change to silver as he gets a little older.

Probably still drunk off the high of having gotten an offer on the Charlotte house (we are officially "under contract"), we decided to be spontaneous and just go get the new dog we'd been fantasizing about for a while. We took a trip to the local humane society on Friday night, hoping to find a boxer or boxer mix (we are in love with my brother's boxer). During that excursion, we learned quite a few things about our eldest son. We knew he seemingly had sensitive hearing, but the poor kid absolutely lost it upon entering a kennel full of about 20 barking dogs. He was crying uncontrollably, with hands pressed against his ears, begging to leave. So Matt and I took turns waiting in the hall with the boys while the other scoped out the dogs. We decided to ask for an outdoor visit with Tank, a 7-month old, super cute boxer mix. It was then that we learned how much Noah hates big dogs. We knew he wasn't a huge fan, but he wanted NOTHING to do with poor Tank, who admittedly was pretty hyper and very strong and not exactly gentle with the boys. No matter how we tried to convince him otherwise, he remained completely freaked out by that dog and adamently opposed the idea of us taking him home. So we left the pound empty-handed and headed to the Chiptole for dinner (yum).

Our dilemma was that Noah was going to be perpetually freaked out by any large dog or yappy dog or any other dog with a persistent bark (thankfully ruling out Matt's request for a coonhound). But Matt & I really, really wanted a "big"dog. Mabel is great and all, but she's not much for fetch and can barely tolerate a walk around the block. She sleeps approximately 23 hours of the day. We wanted a golden retriever or a labrador -- a fantastic family dog, known for being gentle on the munckins -- to take on hikes and trips to the lake, but we didn't want the shedding. So we decided on a doodle, and we knew that we had to get a puppy, so Noah would have time to get used to it before it got too big.

And voila, Mabel has a baby brother. Wish us luck.

UPDATE: Day 1 and a half, and Gus is doing great. He made it basically the whole night without having an accident (Matt took him out early this morning and waited to do his business until he was outside), and barely whimpered at all during the night (or maybe he did, but we just couldn't hear him because he insisted on sleeping under our bed). When Mabel pees (which she only does outside, God bless her), Gus pees. Mabel is clearly in charge, and Gus seems to gladly submit. But he desperately wants to be outside, and only occasionally and with much hesitancy is he willing to leave his spot on the rug by the backdoor. We're off to the vet at 3 to have him checked out. I think this is going to be great!

In case you're wondering where Luke went....

We've decided to send him to military school. Sure, he's only 2 and a half, but something has to be done with this kid. Here are the immediate events that have necessitated such a bold move:

• Friday, 3/13: took a pen to our newly-painted walls.
  
• Tuesday, 3/17: scooped his yogurt out of the bowl and rubbed it all over the picture window.
• Wednesday, 3/18: poured an entire (full!) bottle of doggie shampoo all over my ottomans and my new area rug. (FYI, soap is a bitch to get out of shag carpet.)
• Daily: throws everything out of the toy box in search of his Batman costume, which is sitting two feet over from him on the floor.
• Monday, 3/23: poop. lots of poop, out his diaper and smeared on his leg. (This occurred while his Grandpa was babysitting, by the way, but since he insisted to Grandpa that he didn't need a new diaper, Grandpa ignored it, and I got the pleasure of cleaning it when I got home.)
  
• Monday, 3/23: upon seeing the bowl of gourmet chili at his chair for dinner, he said, "Ooooh yuck, that's disgusting." He then walked away.
  
• Tuesday, 3/24: found a jar of green paint, scooped it out with his fingers and started smearing it all over the (newly-painted) wall in the office. I yelled at him, took it away, and cleaned up his hands. Then I returned to the office, only to discover that he had already smeared the paint all over the arm of our light yellow couch. And we're not talking about crayola washable paint here -- we're talking about the paint included in the rock painting kit a friend got the boys for Christmas, which was being stored in the office closet. Thank you, Harrison family.
• Later on Tuesday, 3/24: took a pen and wrote ALL OVER the very same yellow couch. ALL OVER IT. Dozens and dozens of 6-in. to one-foot long lines, everywhere. Sure, we could flip the cushions, but the other sides are already stained from a couple of years of dripped pizza grease from our days sitting on our asses eating take out in Brooklyn.
• Every time we get in the car: "Rock Star song!" "RRRRROOOCCCCKKK SSSSTTTAAARRR SSSOOONNNGGGGGGGG!!!" Loud, incessant shrilly screams insisting on listening to Weezer sing "I'm a Troublemaker" over and over and over again. And as my brother pointed out, the song consists ENTIRELY of two guitar chords, making repeated airings feel like Chinese water torture (or what I imagine that would feel like). We have to alternate between the "Rock Star Song" and a song with a man singing about what he finds in his belly button.

Let this be a warning to all of you out there with a "second child." Never, ever underestimate them. Don't think that just because your eldest didn't do something, that his/her younger sibling won't do it. This may be especially true for younger brothers (Jeff, Anna -- thoughts?). You think they've reached some independence and that you have leave them alone to entertain themselves for a while, but this is a fatal mistake. You must never take your eyes off them, even for a second. They can be destructive little monsters, wreaking havoc everywhere they go. And whatever you do, stay strong when they come to you, crawl on your lap, and say "I love you so much Mommy." They're just setting you up.

What I did today...

In no particular order:

• Fed my children breakfast.
• Blew off preschool.
• Patched, sanded and painted holes in the wall where we removed the double doors in the den.
• Installed a coat rack in the foyer (drilled holes for the anchors and everything!).
• Hung a few more pictures.
• Replaced a few more switchplates.
• Gave a tour of the made-over house to the realtor.
• Made an appointment for Mabel at the groomers.
• Cleaned the floors.
• Scrubbed, scrubbed and scrubbed again the guest shower, which -- based on the layers of rust, hard water stains and soap scum -- hasn't been cleaned in years.
• Sanded ALL of the walls in the guest bath, which had been basically spackled in their entirety.
• Removed a couple of doors.
• Replaced the handrail down to the basement stairs.
• Fed my children lunch.
• Cleaned up the playroom.
• Cleaned up the playroom again.
• Cleaned up the playroom again.
• Cleaned all of the junk out of the "exercise room."
  
• Painted 1 and a half coats onto the walls of the "exercise room."
• Tore up the carpeting in the "exercise room"; cut it into 4 inch strips; rolled and taped the strips and carried them up and out to the garage.
• Ditto the carpet padding.
• Donned safety goggles and used a crow bar to pry off the tacking strips that had been nailed into the concrete floor of the "exercise room."
  
• Made a fabulous dinner of pasta, apple/gouda chicken sausage with sauteed onions, peppers & spinach.
• Folded and put away 6 loads of laundry.
• Whined incessantly about how much my back hurts.
• Drank a bottle of wine.
• Watched Lean on Me on BET. Damn this movie is awesome.
• Refused my husband's request that I assist him in hanging the new storage cabinet and medicine cabinet in the master bath. He can do it himself. I'm done.
  

Amen

Every person with kids will appreciate this, and every one who ever wonders what those of us with kids do all day NEEDS to read it. Courtesy of a friend's Facebook post.

Random thoughts on a rainy day

I am so friggin' bored I think I have actually lost my mind. I haven't blogged because I have not much to blog about. But I'm so bored on this morning in particular, I've decided to share everything that's floating around in my head the past couple of days...

• Holy crap, if Congress doesn't pass this stimulus package WITH the $15k tax credit for homebuyers, Sweetie and I are totally screwed. Without boring everyone with the details, we did our 2008 taxes the other night, and that tax credit means everything to us. So much so, that we've had to postpone the closing on our house to make sure that if it does pass, we'll be able to qualify for it. We were supposed to close on Friday. Obama wants to sign the bill by Monday. Time is of the essence here people! How many times a day can I check CNN.com for status updates?
• What's the point in packing if we can't start taking boxes over to the new house this weekend? (See supra). It's not like we have that much to pack -- most everything is still in boxes in the basement. I have, however, reorganized almost everything we own, complete with printed labels from my label maker. Awesome.
• This morning, Luke was attempting to put a barette in my hair. After he finished, I asked him if he thought I looked pretty. He said no. Noah, from his spot on the potty doing his morning business, shouted, "You are pretty in my eyes, mommy." Awwwww.
• I can't wait until Luke starts preschool.
• Why is kindergarten in Minnesota only 2 and half hours long? They call it a half-day, but it's not. It's only a third of a regular school day. Idiots.
• When, dear God, is Luke going to be potty trained? He wipes his own butt when we change his diaper, so why can't he just go on the damn toilet?!?!?!?
• I keep losing to Matt Robertson on Scramble. This bothers me.
• I hate clomid. I hate having to be on clomid. I hate that clomid didn't even work last month. I hate that I have no idea what the hell happened inside of my body to necessitate the clomid. I hate that no one knows if clomid is actually going to address the undiagnosed problem, but that I'm on it anyway. I hate that I have no idea when or if we are ever going to have another baby. I hate that I have such control issues.
• How the hell did Jon & Kate +8 afford such a huge house? I want a tractor, too.
• Noah doesn't know what "cheat" means. Luke doesn't know what "that's not fair" means. Nevertheless, they both use them frequently and fervently.
• Is Harvest Brown the right choice for the kitchen cabinets? Or should I go with Parisian Taupe? And should I go with brushed nickel hardware or antiqued bronze?
• 10 years ago today Sweetie kissed me for the first time. 10 years: 6 apartments, 2 rented houses, 2 owned (almost) houses, 3 states, 5 cars, 5 jobs, 2 kids, 1 cat, 1 dog, countless moments of perfection and bliss. I love you Sweetie.
  

The New House!!

As many of you know, a couple of weeks ago Matt and I got completely fed up with renting this tiny, tiny house with its detached garage and lack of dining room. More than that, we were sick of not knowing what our future held. We were constantly on edge waiting for notification of a showing on our Charlotte house, counting the days until our lease ran out here, worried that our Charlotte house wouldn't sell in time. Preschools have their deadlines for applications coming up, and kindergartens are starting to host the open houses for next year's students. We couldn't deal with either one of those things because we had no idea where we'd be living. The life in limbo got too much for us, and we decided that we'd been living our life "on hold" for too long. So, we decided that come hell or high water, we were going to buy a house. Either we'd qualify for a mortgage (thank you Mom and Dad!) or we'd BEG someone with a vacant house to let us rent it from them pursuant to a contingent offer to buy. We drove our realtor crazy and scoured every single part of the city we'd want to live for anything we'd be willing to call home.

And we found it. In all it's 1960 ranch glory!

This house is NOTHING like our house in Charlotte, and I never would have imagined that I'd be willing to buy a "fixer upper," let alone be excited about it, but I AM! In fact, I'm ECSTATIC! Fortunately, the only fixing the house needs is cosmetic. Lots and LOTS of paint! But the bones are fantastic. It has almost 3000 square feet all together, including the unfinished storage. Four bedrooms and 2 baths upstairs, and a guest bedroom and bath downstairs. It has an exercise room and a couple of storage rooms, one that's already set up as a workshop for my carpenter-wannabe husband, and a big playroom and family room downstairs. All together it has 3 fireplaces, one of which has 2 compartments and is in the dining room/kitchen, so we can cook on it. It is on a quiet street on a huge lot, so I have lots of room and sun to garden my ass off. It's a short walk from a nature preserve with a nature center and playground and, in the other direction, a park with a lake. We close in a week and a half and having it painted before we move in on the 26th. And we have LOTS of room for visitors -- even more room than we did in Charlotte. So come on people!!

What happens when you wake up and it's -21 degrees...

You read that right -- it's negative 21 degrees Fahrenheit outside right now, at 8:08 a.m. CST. The windchills are in the mid -40s. So when your alarm goes off at 6 a.m., and you hear MPR (that's Minnesota Public Radio) telling you it's one of the coldest days in this decade and they start reporting the school closings, this is what you do:

1) Immediately abandon all plans to get up and go to the gym before you husband leaves for work. That was a stupid idea anyway.
2) Hike up the humidifier next to your bed. You can practically feel the forced air heat sapping each ounce of moisture from your body.
3) Warn your husband about how car exhaust creates black ice on roadways, and how, when it's this cold, salt on the roads is wholly ineffective, so he should be extra careful when driving to work today (and then when going to the hockey game tonight).
4) Roll over and go back to sleep until your kids wake you up.
5) A few minutes later, when your kids wake you up, and you get them situated with their morning milk and dose of Scooby Doo, with the full expectation that they will rarely leave the couch for the rest of the day, except perhaps when you tempt them with making dinosaur-shaped cookies this afternoon.
6) Cancel the kids dentist appointments for the day. It's too cold for the dentist.
7) Decide against going to the moms' group. It's too cold for the moms' group.
8) Make a large pot of coffee and fetch the Bailey's from the liquor cabinet.
9) Spend the day knitting, challenging Irene to Facebook wordgames, pondering the meaning of my existence, moderating toy-related squabbles, preparing for my Westlaw contract job, and otherwise watching the minutes tick by. You know you're jealous.