Still shopping around a bit

House on the MLS. Pretty, but needs work.

It's pending anyway, and we won't know until tomorrow if it is going through. If not, we will take a look-see. The lot is huge (really, really huge), the house is huge (and has a big wrap-around balcony up top, down one side and around to the back), and it is quite pretty from the outside. The garage is in great shape, and the fence is a really new, tall privacy fence that looks to be in very good shape, though it needs to be stained. But...

The "River valley view" is actually a birds-eye view of the refinery. "Needs 'TLC'" actually means it needs a lot of work, particularly to floors and such things, and mostly in the two-storey addition. The solarium in particular is in issue, since it requires a permit and an encroachment agreement or some such thing in order to make it compliant. It's really, really close to some low-rentals. It's a foreclosure sale, but that is only part of the reason why it is so cheap. (The price is apparently incorrect on the MLS; the banks are looking for $192,900 and there isn't a lot of room to bargain.) Still less than we could get for our place, but with the repair work that would be required, well, I wonder if it is a worthwhile endeavor.

I wonder what else may be wrong with it. Hmmm...

Got it!

Tonight, our phone stopped working while I was talking to my family. (Sorry Mom & Holly. We'll try and call you tomorrow night.) Driving back from Shaw (where we had to go to inquire about our phone problem), we were fortunate enough to snag a picture of this very ironic sign.


I love it!

Grouch!

J keeps crying. I can't console him. He slept through the night, and apparently I must pay the price today.

I've fed him; I've burped him; I've changed him. I've put him in his bassinet, with his soother and with toys to play with. I've held him upright and allowed him to vomit all over me (something he does when held upright too soon after eating). When I held him upright, he calmed down and stopped crying. So I thought it was worthwhile, despite the vomitting. But then he started to cry again. I put him back in the bassinet, but he is still crying.

I don't know what to do for him, and I feel like a bad mommy just leaving him crying like this. But I can't make him stop crying, and I don't know what's wrong. NOTHING is wrong!!!

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Well, J has bronchiolitis. Nothing serious. He has a cough and a sore throat, and he's a bit congested. T and I went for dinner with L&P tonight. J has been really warm and sleepy for the last couple of days, and he started coughing late last night. But he was ok this evening, so we figured the worst was over and we could go out.

But on the way home, J started crying and coughing again, and T got nervous (paranoid new mom) and insisted we take him to a doctor. Fortunately, all seems to be ok. They want us to watch him for about a week and, if the cough persists, he'll get checked out again. In the meantime, they prescribed Triaminic infant drops.

We went to the pharmacy to pick up the prescription (which they don't make any more - and it was an over the counter medicine anyway - but that's a whole other story). Anyway, while T was in the store, J started fussing, so I climbed in the backseat with him and proceeded to tell him the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

"Then Goldilocks tried the first bowl of porridge. And do you know what happened next?" And that was when J puked on me.

Dictionary says...

Despondent: adj. Feeling or expressing despondency.

************
Well, I guess you can't argue with that.

Why??

I am pondering - why?

For example, why am I, today, in my late 30s? This does not seem fair to me. I remember being much younger and more active, able to stay up later, able to do more. And I could have sworn it was recently. And yet, suddenly, I find myself 36 years old, with no idea of how I got there. I will not take well to 40; I can see it now.

This aging issue is, of course, somewhat eased by the fact that I still periodically get ID'd - usually at the Fringe beer tents. Silliness, I say - I may not look 36, but I certainly do not look 17 either. Still, it is flattering when it happens. It is rarer and rarer these days, mind you. Sigh! I have always looked younger than my years. I remember when being told that I look younger than my years was insulting; how perspectives change.

In any event, having another birthday is far better than any other option that I can see. But nonetheless, I am not particularly impressed with aging.

I refuse to age gracefully! And to that end, I have decided that, from this point forward, I will age in reverse. Next year, I look forward to turning 35. Again.

Yes yes.

Hypnotizin' Baby

You are getting sleepy ... sleeeeepppyyyy.
Your eyes are getting heavy ... heeeeaaaavvvvyyy.
You cannot keep them open.

You are no longer a baby.
You are ... a turnip.

And do you know what turnips do?
They SLEEP!!

*********
J is having a rough couple of days. He has been refusing naps. He's been refusing to eat much, and he's been really grumpy. Today, va1kyrie and theatre mommy are taking their little tykes to the pool. We were invited, but J is just so grumpy that we can't possibly go. I feel cheated. I want to go out!! But he just won't cooperate, so I can't go. The outing with the sobbing baby would not be any fun.

It's probably just as well; I have a sore throat and some swollen glands going on today. Just getting over an ear infection, and now seem to be coming down with a cold. Shouldn't get anyone else sick, I guess. I don't know if I'm contagious or not. I think I can fight this thing off, but I should probably stay close to home until I manage it.

I thought perhaps J was grumpy because maybe he's teething. I figured I'd give him some Tylenol. If he was in pain, it would help; if not, one dose really wouldn't hurt anything. I put the sobbing baby in his bassinet, and he cried and cried. Then I gave him the dose of Tylenol. He lapped it up quite happily - then immediately (IMMEDIATELY) settled down and fell asleep.

Tylenol doesn't work that fast. I theorize that he just wanted the grape flavor. I don't know.

Anyway, he's finally asleep. I hope for a better day than yesterday.

zzzzzzzzzzz...

Fun so far - Updated

Posted at 10:45 a.m. August 8, 2005


J's hearing test is today. He has to be sleep deprived for it.

He woke up at 5:00 a.m., looking for a new diaper and some food. Knocked off his peepee teepee and peed all over himself and his burp cloth during his diaper change. Ate, then puked all over the bed. Many, many times. I was unimpressed.

We let him sleep a little while longer, as we figured it would be torture to keep him up from 5:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. But he's been back up for a while now, and he's very very tired. He really is trying to go back to sleep. My parents just got here to help us keep little tyke awake until his appointment. They are so good to us!

I think we may give him a bath in a little bit. He hates baths, so that should keep him awake. And fighting with us during bath time should really tucker him out for his appointment. (He'll need to fall asleep while he's there, you see. He needs to be plenty tired.)

I'll try to post an update after his appointment. I hope we will get the results today, but I don't know.

*******

Update posted at 3:46 p.m. August 8, 2005

J can hear! He can hear!! He can hear!!!

Test results show that he has perfect hearing in both ears. So we still don't know why he doesn't startle to loud sounds. The audiologist says best guess is he's just a really laid-back baby. (I say "Wanna come over some time? I think you'll disagree.") But what she meant is that he just doesn't really react to sounds, because they don't really interest or bother him in any way.

But he can hear.

(J is also very happy about his results! Can't you tell?)


Thanks, Paul, for the very cool effect. Me likes!!

TV Listings

Flashdance is on tonight. On the Family Channel.

What the...??

I wonder if the staff go for coffee together?

Once again, while driving J around, we recently spotted this rather silly sign post (one of these things just doesn't belong here, wouldn't you say?)


And as if that weren't bad enough, check out which stores are side by side!


"Head down 50th Street, take your first left, and we're in that strip mall - right next to the Adult Superstore. God bless you!"