Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Moving sucks when you have little kids...or just generally

So we've all had to move, right?  First we move out of our parents' house, maybe into the dorms or our first crappy apartment.  Then we move once a year for seven years, each and every year that we're in college and law school.  Wait, what?  That was just me?  Don't tell me dad, who graciously moved me every time!  But seriously, you all know how bad moving sucks.  Now imagine it with kids.  Now imagine it with two kids under the age of five.  Now imagine trying to sell your current home, while searching for your future home and juggling all of the timing and financing and showings.  And did I mention that you're also supposed to imagine it with two kids under five?  And with a job.  I'm about to drop dead from exhaustion.

I wish I were a Hollywood type so that I could hire someone to watch  my kids, buy a house on my behalf, move my shit and sell my old house after I'm gone....also, so that I could take a hospital vacation and call it "suffering from exhaustion and dehydration."  Come on, you know you've thought of how blissful it was/would be to have a second kid and be "stuck" in the hospital with someone to take care of said second kid for two days, while leaving First Kid at home.

So we're looking for a home we can stay in for a long time.  While we're not too picky about school districts, they factor in.  We want a yard, enough bedrooms, a basement rec room, etc.  I started out just wanting a "house."  It's gotten so much harder.  So while I spent countless hours emailing my real estate agent or mortgage broker and perusing the Multiple Listing Service, I have spent less time enjoying the little beasts I'm trying to find more space for!  I miss them.

Here are some choice moments over the past few days that I believe are directly related to my elsewhere attentions.  Today, Kaia dressed herself sans supervision.  She came out in a black and white knit skirt over jeggings, a short-sleeved yellow t-shirt and neon yellow socks.  It was epic.  Last night, as I finished cleaning and staging for today's showing, I literally chased the kids around for an hour, insisting that they only play with one toy and when they were done they had to put it back.  That actually seems like something I should always do, but I sort of like the peace and quiet of letting my kids get their way.  When my agent stopped by for a walkthrough yesterday and commented on the Easy Bake Oven, I quipped, "Yep, two bedrooms, five people and at least one of every toy known to man!" Today, we've got a 7:30 p.m. showing (and a 7:15 p.m. bedtime), and I'm not going to let them step one grimy little foot in that place!  I'm treating the monkeys to a McDonald's trip, wherein they will be allowed to play as much as they want and eat as little as they want.  I might even get them chocolate milk.  And if we need to waste more time, I scoped out a nearby ice cream place.  Because I wouldn't have gotten away with putting them in storage, I have two garbage bags of stuffed animals ("friends") in the trunk of my car.  When Kaia gets home from our adventure tonight, she's probably going to flip out.  Although we were out of milk and juice when Kevin asked about groceries yesterday, the only thing I asked him to pick up was alcohol.  I am making mental plans to drink heavily as soon as this showing is over.

Some day, I will look back on this experience fondly, but mostly because I will never have to do it again with two children under the age of five.  Kids, man, they make shit hard.

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