And that paint is drying all weird

Ok, after several delays and miscommunications, we're pretty sure we're really going to close on our present house today. Yeah, we were supposed to do it yesterday, but the bank that was forwarding the buyer's papers to the title company apparently had a "Beat Michigan" party on Wednesday and didn't get the papers in on time. Can you believe that? People, I'm an Ohio State fan, too, but never once have I worked someplace that shut down on Wednesday because of a football game the following weekend. What is going on in this town? I have this mental image of going to the title company today and being surrounded by agents wearing buckeye necklaces, pom poms and hungover expressions. Sigh. I wonder if they're accepting applications.

Cut me some slack, jack

Poor Lil J is still having some intestinal distress. I just wish I knew if it was from the new medicine or a stomach bug. I'm sort of leaning towards "stomach bug" because of the pained expressions I keep seeing J make as he lies down on the couch, clutching his stomach. Methinks something viral is afoot at the Circle K. Anyway, all I know is that I hope our innards are better by next week because I hate being sick on Thanksgiving and not being able to eat my own weight in complex carbohydrates. We're going to J's brother's house this year and not planning on cooking anything ourselves, thank goodness. Frankly, I'm too tired and stressed to even look at a casserole dish right now.

Oh, and did I mention how cold it's gotten here? Yesterday I think the high was about 27. 27. Good grief. I'm seriously considering buying one of those mom coats that's all puffy and knee-length. All part of my larger plan to really let myself go. But at least I'd be warm.

If at first you don't succeed, to heck with it

I was just browsing http://thepioneerwoman.com/ and saw this in one of her posts:

That is hilarious...and extremely appropriate for some people I know...not that I'd name them here...but I'd be willing to give them up in email if anybody wants to know who I'm talking about. Mwa ha ha!

The weather outside is frightful

I want to let everyone know that Lil J was in the hospital Friday night (we left around 4 on Saturday afternoon) to start the Propranolol, and, when it comes to his breathing, he's doing really well so far. He sounds good. Unfortunately, he's dealing with some nasty intestinal side effects. And when I say "he's dealing" with it, I mean I'm the one changing 8 to 10 diarrhea diapers a day. Aren't you glad you checked my blog today? Yuck. But the hospital stay wasn't too bad this time. Exhausting, as usual, but at least it was quick. I just couldn't believe what was going on in the two rooms beside ours though: newborn babies left in the cardiology unit with no visitors. Isn't that sad?? I have no idea where their parents were and why they couldn't come at night (if they worked) or with the other kids (if they had them). Those poor babies were crying all night with only the nurses to comfort them. Made me want to punch somebody. How do people do that?

For some reason, I'm craving kielbasa

We just got back from the ENT's, and it looks like we could be going to the hospital as early as tomorrow morning to get Lil J started on the Propranolol and hooked up to an EKG to make sure it's not affecting his circulatory system adversely. He'll have to stay overnight whenever they can fit us in, so, actually, tomorrow would be better than next week since we have so much house stuff going on then. But we're mostly hoping that everything is ok and the medication doesn't have any bad side effects for him. The ENT said that we have the option of doing nothing and just observing Lil J right now because he doesn't sound as bad as he did, but with it being cold and flu season, the ENT really didn't recommend that because if Lil J does catch something, it could get bad quickly. So that's the score. We're waiting on a phone call to tell us when to go to the hospital, I'll probably pack a bag tonight, and then brace myself for more hospital food and sleeping on a plank while gnashing my teeth with worry all night long. Ahhh yes. But I suppose this is better than being in the hospital over Thanksgiving. I can only imagine what cafeteria could do to turkey and stuffing. Yech.

Don't worry, little lady, I'll fix your wagon

I am so, so relieved we finally found a house. Keep your fingers crossed for us that the inspection goes well this week and we can get out of our current house in time and move into this one without anyone's head exploding or losing a limb or whatnot. It's going to be stressful, is what I'm saying. Aside from the fact that this is in a better school district than our current abode, I've noticed on my drives through the neighborhood that, lo and behold, there are no hookers on the corners, people don't park in their front yards, and not ONCE have I seen someone getting shot at on my tours of the subdivision. Nice. This is going to be a big step up for us. I feel like the Jeffersons.

It's just been revoked

Ugh, we have simply got to find a house soon, because this stress is really starting to get to me. I woke up this morning with achy arms and wrists, a splitting headache and heartburn. This is my body giving me the high sign that I need to relax. OR find the person who put in the first contract on that house we really liked, tie them up and stash them in a cave in Romania until we can steal that house out from under them. So I have options, which is nice.

One delightful thing has happened lately though: Lil J has started giving me hugs. He will actually wrap his arms around my neck while I'm holding him and squeeze real tight and make a sighing noise. That can make me forget for a few minutes that the three of us are going to be living in the van in a couple weeks. Ha ha. Sweet cracker sandwich.

Sleep with one eye open

Seriously, somebody needs to figure out a way to program babies to be on standard time just like we do the computer, because Lil J keeps waking up before 6 a.m.. Oy. That kid is probably going to be on his first nap by 9 a.m.. Which, really, sounds nice to me. I would not mind if somebody put a bunk bed in my office and let me nap an hour after I get to work. Sounds delightful actually.

We looked at another house last night. It was really cute and in good shape, but it was just too small. And on a small lot so it's not like we'd be able to add on to it later. I have a feeling we're just going to have to get used to the idea that to get a good-sized house at a reasonable price, we'll have to make a pretty long trek to work. Everything that's close to downtown is either half a million dollars or half the size of my hiney. And that's just not going to work, people!

Darn shame when people throw away a perfectly good white boy

I'm totally psyched by how the election went last night. When the news this morning was replaying Obama's acceptance speech and then showed parts of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech right after it, I actually got misty-eyed. And that, my friends, is why I voted for the man. I want to be excited and hopeful about politics; not jaded and cynical. It restores my faith in possibility and what I believe America is about. Can you hear that? That's a chorus of angels singing "What a Wonderful World" behind me.

So the house-hunting is going pretty much SUCKILY right now. Yeah, it deserves a new adverb it's so bad. We found the perfect house on Sunday, then when we made an offer, the jerky agent told our agent that it had been in contract for days. Thanks a lot, jerks. Then we found another good house last night only to be told this morning that it is in contract, too. What the heck? So we will continue to look. It's so frustrating.

And Lil J did not enjoy his bumblebee costume at all on Friday. He howled the whole time he had it on (mostly because he apparently hadn't napped all day and was therefore a tad cranky), so we just let him play on the porch while we handed out candy. The next morning we went to the Amish restaurant for breakfast, and he at least wore his ghost bib: