MOVING IN...

we're moved in.
for over a month now.
well, moved in as in "our stuff is all in our house and we're living here and sleeping here."
we're not moved in as in "all of our projects are completed and our house is in 100% working order, with everything in its place and no piles of crapola anywhere." no, we're not that kind of moved in.
still, it's great to be home.
if i take a moment to reflect, i must say that all in all,
it sucked.
kind of a surprise!-you-moved-and-now-you-moved-back-into-the-same-house-and-get-to-unpack! party.
the boxes were overwhelming.
the paper inside the boxes was oppressive.
but we did it.
as of today, there is only 1 box left in the entire house that hasn't been unpacked.
it has baby clothes i need to go through and pare down.
i'm avoiding it, to tell you the truth.
the boys loved the boxes, by the way.
we arranged the empty ones in the living room
just like the indiana jones warehouse.
a warehouse wonderland.
and the day they were finally taken away,
the boys knocked them all down creating a delightful pile.
we like to think of it as cardboard art.

these purple jibbie jobbies were on each and every textile returned to us. which meant that each and every tag had to be removed. uggh.



here are the boys playing with about HALF the boxes.




and yes, while some of the textiles were returned in boxes (ie dishtowels, socks, etc.), most were brought to us on hangers and covered in plastic. unbelievably overwhelmming.



these photos really don't do any of this justice.

i suppose it goes without saying that we are really super duper glad to be home!

WE'RE HOME...

crap.

RANDOM THOUGHTS FROM A DISPLACED HOME OWNER

...a collection of
random thoughts,
images and whatnot
from almost 7 months
of living in a hotel,
dealing with insurance,
overseeing construction
and trying not to kill anyone during the process.

2 shirts for dad? check. raspberries? check. oh, and a mattress. check. ever bought a mattress from costco? it feels kind of weird. people look at you funny. they know it's weird that someone is rolling a mattress on a cart up to the cash register, and yet it's costco, so it's kind of normal, you know?

the cool part about buying a mattress at costco is the wild ride that follows.

there's been a lot of this lately. shopping at hardware stores and trying to keep the boys occupied. thank you, angry birds!

we had snow on and off during the first two weeks of the fire. and while we were on "vacation," spring came. freezing-fanny cold wetter-than-all-get-out spring.

despite our sleepless nights, huge amounts of stress and total frustration around this whole process (how many times can we hit our breaking point?), wyatt still manages to kick some butt. or in this case, the bad guy kicked the butts of the red and blue power rangers. booyah!

there have been moments of peace during this whole process. moments where i pause and realize we are really ok. and good things continue to happen. here's boon doing his homework. so proud of this guy. he's worked hard and it shows. he's become more independent and confident in his work and we are so impressed by him.

it's easy enough to feel cooped up in our neck of the woods when it's gray and rainy most of the time. but when you live in "home sweet hotel" (hudson's term), you take whatever opportunities you can to get outside. so when the rain pauses and the sun threatens to show itself, we head outside in rainboots. our hotel has a lot of great puddles to explore,

not to mention the parking lot.

this was the scene the day servicemaster packed up our items from two rooms. just two. yep. looks like a household's worth, doesn't it? the family room and guest/crap...i mean craft room. don't judge.

the guys have had fun sharing a room. sure, they should be sleeping in these pictures, but heck. these are the moments that help strengthen the bonds of brotherhood, don't you think?

this is the most heavy duty vacuum cleaner i have ever seen. this baby cleaned out our duct system after the fire, and for that, i am thankful. yucko.

the lego masterpieces being created by the boys lately are amazing. funny what creativity comes out when your wii is in storage.

and last but not least, quarters. i'm ok if i never see another one of them again. ever. (we should get a new washer and dryer delivered soon. and fyi, the insurance company studied our dryer and decided the cause of the fire was a child's sock that somehow got stuck in the lint trap and eventually caught fire. speaking of random.)

FIRE PROGRESS UPDATE

when last we left our heroine
and her 3 heroes,
they were knee deep
"on vacation"
in a hotel 10 minutes from home,
anxiously awaiting construction to begin
on their bathroom/laundry room following
"the great underwear fire of 2011."

well, since then,
construction has been moving along...
slowly.
the bathroom was gutted to the studs,
and the family room and guest/craft rooms
were emptied.
all items were taken to be thoroughly
cleaned of smoke and stored until
their home was move-in ready, or at least close.

to date, all walls in these 3 rooms
are awaiting their second and final coat of paint.
baseboards and trim have been installed.
shower tile has been completed.
flooring...check.
soon to come:
toilet, sink, light, etc.

and barring any roadblocks,
housecleaners will arrive on wednesday
in an attempt to
a) remove construction dust
and
b) clean up almost 7 weeks of grime that accumulated
from a home with no occupants but a variety of
construction workers
using the toilet.

and barring any other roadblocks,
thursday will be pack-in day.
all of their items that were packed out,
including every single textile in the entire house,
will be returned.
boxes and boxes.
and hangers and hangers.
stuff. and a lot of it.

and as overwhelming as that sounds to our heroine,
there is also the relief that soon her home will be hers again.
she will belong somewhere instead of
feeling a stranger no matter where she goes.
no more housekeepers and maintenance workers in her hotel.
no more construction folks in her home.

just her
and her 3 heroes.
and boxes and boxes.
and hangers and hangers.
and a mountain of pillow pets.


our heroine and her hero...
(photo credit: Hudson)


and her other two little heroes.

WE'RE STILL HERE

well, we're still here.
in a hotel.
a hotel that would seem large...
if you were on vacation.
but is seeming less and less large...
as we are living here.
together.
four of us.
and a ton of legos.
and a mountain of pillow pets.


hudson said the other day,
"i love the hotel!
i wish this was my real home and
we could live here forever!"

ok, glad he is happy.

boon says he loves it here, too,
but i can tell he is feeling cooped up
like his folks are.
and missing a chance to get away by himself
for a moment or two.

for the first few weeks,
our driveway has looked something like this.

for the next few weeks, however,
not much was going on.
construction was set to begin...soonish?
meanwhile, i was dutifully filling out inventory forms
while wyatt dealt with contractors and insurance.
construction has since picked up, but i'll save that
for another post.

we've been here for one month.
one month plus 3 days.
this place has perks, don't get me wrong.
a short supply of dishes means doing dishes is quick and painless.
which means cooking can be somewhat painful.
we have a couple of pots. and a microwave.
oh, and an oven, but nothing to put our food on
to cook in the oven.
that's about it.

a sweet lady comes and vaccuums and makes our beds.
she'll even put away my dishes and run the washer for me
if i didn't get the chance.
but i have to tip her.
or at least i think i should.
but i don't always remember.
and then i feel guilty.

it is cozy.

there is laundry on the premises...
although i have to schlep our designer laundry bags
(think black plastic garbage sacks)
across the complex.
and pay.
which means coinage.

we have a view of a drainage pond
which is actually quite lovely.
and a great trail
that passes by a beaver lodge.
but i miss spying on my neighbors outside
my own front window.
(and i'm confident they do the same spying on me,
otherwise i would not have admitted that here).

hudson and i walk to the lobby each day for
our little outing to get a cookie from the jar.

and a few mornings a week, the boys and i
go to the breakfast room.
somehow froot loops and frosted flakes
make them feel like they are on vacation.

we are trying to make our weekends fun
to help alleviate some of the boredom.
one weekend we went here

thanks for passes we received from some
very kind and generous neighbors.

then we spent time throwing rocks at the beach,
tried a new noodle restaurant,
and finished the day off at the lego store.
not bad, all in all.


as far as family morale?
could be better.
could be worse.
all in all, we're pretty darn good.

oh, but did i mention what a pain in the butt
all of this is?