Category Archives: House

I Am Trying To Write A Very Hard Post

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And I’m really stuck. It’s about accepting my physical limitations.

So let’s talk about something else.

Yesterday’s dentist appointment wasn’t as bad as I feared it would be. Adam was scared, for sure, and I had to force him to open his mouth, after the hygienist and I spent quite a bit of time trying to coax him. He isn’t verbal enough yet to say ‘XYZ is why I am scared.’ Maybe next time and we can talk about it and he can get past it. All the hygienist does is look at this point, so really nothing too scary.

He then went into their waiting room and we put CBeeBies on the TV for him and I got my teeth cleaned without a hysterical boy in the corner. Hygienist very pleased with my teeth and my gums are finally improving.

We then and got a treat at Co-Op of crisps and chocolate chip cookies, both to have with our lunch. And then we came home. And had said lunch and a long snuggle on the sofa. Which is how we like to spend most afternoons, after doing things in the morning.

Today he is at nursery and I did some work and am doing some stuff around the house. A bunch of curtain rings broke on our front window curtains so I replaced those today. They look much better now that they are hanging correctly! Also unpacked some more books and dug out Adam’s 3T pyjamas that grandma brought last time she was here.

I knew it was time when I was changing his nappy this morning just after he woke up and I noticed his big toes poking through the feet of his pyjamas! My son, The Hulk! So I pulled the 3Ts out of the drawer and held them up to me. They should fit him just fine now!

And then I had some lunch and then I did some more pottering around the house. Now I’m going to switch laundry over and then I’m going to clean up the kitchen.

And then I am going to chill for a bit and then I’m going to go pick up my son from nursery.

And that’s a day in the life of a SAHM/Freelance Online Media Specialist.

Not all that exciting.

But it makes me happy.

The Comfort Of Light

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The house on our left has a kitchen window that is directly across from ours. I can’t see into it because they have that textured privacy glass on it, but the light, obviously, shines through. And I can see the silhouettes of the couple who live there as they work in their kitchen. Not that I stare, but it is right in front of me when I’m at the sink!

One day last week, while I was making dinner, I noticed, for the first time since we moved in, the window was dark. It was slightly disturbing and oddly unsettling to have nothing but blackness in front of me as I worked in my kitchen. Since the weather has been so horrendous there has been no moon so it’s been very dark and all I could see was…nothing.

It was just the one night and I’ve noted and smiled at the light ever since. No longer taking it for granted.

Light is comforting.

Today I Finished Turning Adam’s Little Old Lady Room

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Into a little boy room.

I couldn’t do anything about the truly hideous wallpaper, so I turned it into:

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A highway

 

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The waterfront

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And a sky full of planes.

I then took down the flowered curtains and put up:

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Racing cars

To go with:

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The car on his floor.

I then covered a chair, that we own:

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With a duvet full of diggers.

To make it all match:

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The duvet cover he already had.

I’m quite pleased with the way it’s turned out. I hope he will be too when he gets home from nursery and sees it!

The One Thing That I Hate About This House

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is the electric stove. I think I’ve mentioned this before. I have been cooking on gas for the past 8 years and am having a really hard time adjusting.

The hardest part is remembering that the burners stay hot for, literally, hours after the stove is turned off. I am so used to just putting a pot back on the stove that it has been really hard to break the habit. Especially as there is so little counter space in the kitchen.

And then I went to Ikea to look at things for Adam’s room to make it more ‘boyish’. The whole house is decorated in pink and light blue and flowers, not my taste but I can live with it. Except in Adam’s room. It’s just such a ridiculous thing for a little boy to have, so I went shopping for some things to make the room more his.

And while I was there I found these 6×6 wooden trivets for 90p each. And I have now bought 12 of them. And lined the entire side of the kitchen counter to the left of the stove with them, making that entire area heat proof.

It’s saved my sanity. Such a great place to put a hot pot or two without having to move trivets around or get my cutting boards out.

I have a few more trivets on order for the other side of the stove. Just in time to be able to dish up and serve Christmas dinner.

As for Adam’s room, Ikea didn’t have much, but he did get this rug and this storage thing. I’ve also ordered him some curtains and some removable stickers for his walls.

I realize I haven’t done upstairs pictures yet, but hopefully Thursday, as Wednesday is finish the upstairs day in preparation for the hoards that descend starting Friday!

Let the festivities begin!

‘Tis The Season…

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For the first time ever, Simon and I have the space and the inclination to have a ‘real’ Christmas.

So I’ve been shopping. I’ve bought some new ornaments. A card display thing.

And this cookie cutter set, the acquisition there of leading to a discussion with my husband, and this MN thread about whether or not Christmas Cookies are a UK tradition. The consensus on MN is, sometimes. The consensus in my house is, nope, not at all. So Simon doesn’t get to eat any.

Because sometime in the next couple of weeks there will come a blog post about Adam and I making Christmas Cookies. Rolling and cutting and decorating!

I also need to finish unpacking so that I can find the rest of our ornaments and my nieces’ Christmas presents that are to be sent to the US!

I am also planning on sending cards this year. I hope people don’t faint from shock.

So, do you bake Christmas Cookies, US or UK?

 

My New Schedule

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So, today was the first Monday since we moved into the house that Adam has gone to nursery and so I was able to implement my new schedule.

So today I took him to nursery and came straight back home. I put on a pot of coffee and put in a load of wash. Then I did work for my main client for about 4 hours. Then I had lunch.

You may recall me mentioning previously that I had to assign days to housework or I’d never get it done. Well, with a house over 2 floors, rather than dividing tasks, I’ve divided the floors. Each floor will get it’s clean every other week. So today began the week of the upstairs. Within each half I have a list of tasks such as dusting and hoovering and bed changing. I give myself the entire week to do it due to my physical and mental limitations. I got about 1/2 of it done today, so that’s quite good.

I will finish a good part of it on Wednesday, unless I have to run to see my client, which I may have to do due to an issue that so far we haven’t been able to resolve on the phone. In which case the cleaning will be completed on Friday.

And this is why I have a week. Because I need it!

And Now, Live From Belfast…The House!

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Well, at least the downstairs…Adam’s D&V has returned and Simon has joined him. sigh

This is the view out our front window:

Rose bush

I have taken advice on how to deal with roses and am eagerly awaiting, strong clippers at the ready, for the flowers to die so I can cut that sucker right down! There are 3 others out there as well, but this one is the most beautiful.

The front room itself:

Living room

To anyone who has ever been to my flat, yes, the computer is in the exact same place. If we didn’t have a computer in the front room, Simon and I would never see each other. The TV is just over the right of that 2 seater. So it is pretty much the same layout as the flat, but slightly less floor space because the flat was totally open plan and here we have walls and doors!

The dining room:

Dining room

You can just barely see the back garden through the big glass wall/slider there. We are having a small problem as there is no key for the slider so the Estate Agent is working on that for us. Not that it’s a huge issue at the moment, of course, since it’s pretty much rained from the moment we’ve moved in!

And, yes, the laptop is in the same position as the flat as well. Did I mention? No computers downstairs, no seeing my husband and vice versa!

The kitchen:

Kitchen

Do you see what that is down there on the far left? A tumble dryer!!! I can now do all of our laundry in 2 days instead of it taking a week! We also have a drying line but, as I said, it’s been raining the whole time we’ve lived here so it hasn’t seen much use yet. There is also a line up in the garage but right now the garage is full of boxes of books.

And here is the back garden, with Adam, for scale 🙂 :

I can play ball in it

It is completely fenced in so once the weather improves, in 4 or 5 months, I’ll be able to open up the kitchen door and, key willing, the slider and he can just run around while I do stuff in the house. I think at 3 he’ll be okay to do that with frequent checking!

So that’s the downstairs. Let me get some more boxes unpacked (2 Fridays in a row Simon has taken the day off to help me do that and we’ve been scuppered by illness) and I’ll do the upstairs!

Adam’s Newest Adventure

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I realized I haven’t really described the house, so I will do that in a few days, with some pictures. ::waits for the sounds of fainting to stop::

Everyone okay?

Anyway, we are more or less moved in but, of course, not unpacked. A lot has been unpacked but the office and all of our books still need sorting out. Hopefully this weekend a lot of that will be finished.

So we are settling in and Adam is having the time of his life, with stairs to climb and a big back garden and a park nearby. And the bus! He gets to ride the bus! Who knew the bus was so much fun?

And do you know the best bit? Imagine, if you will, a bus full of commuters, just before 8am. I climb on and turn to help Adam up the steep stair and say ‘Go on, go sit down over there’ and put my Metro Card on the reader. I turn to join him and every one of those tired ‘OMG is it only Wednesday’ faces had lit up with a smile as my big boy climbed up on a seat all by himself and settled in for the journey.

Living in the ‘burbs is grand.

The Move Report

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So the move started around 825 last Friday morning when the packers arrived to begin, well, packing. 🙂 Adam and Simon had left at 8 to get Adam to nursery and Simon to the Agent’s to sign the lease and get the keys.

I gave them a quick tour of the flat and they were pretty wide eyed when they saw all the books. Although the booker/estimate guy knew about them!

And so the packing began. We own, thanks to a certain relative coming to stay and getting ill and leaving them behind, about 10 suitcases, so I packed our clothes myself. Besides, would you want a big burly packing man to pack your lingerie? Me either. 😉

Around 930 Simon rang from the Estate Agent saying they wanted a full months rent and then we’d pay the partial month rent in the middle of November. This is not what the Agent told me when I asked a month ago, but we had the money so, okay! I was amazed they actually took a cheque for it. In the US first month’s rent and deposit has always required a bankers cheque, in my experience. In any case, Simon finished up with that and headed up to the house with some things for Adam’s room. The plan was that he and Adam would go up on the Saturday before the movers and get him at least partially settled.

So anyway, the packers and I were packing. Simon was sorting the new house. Adam was at daycare.

Around 12 Simon got back with lunch for us and the packers took their lunch break. I had been chatting to one of them, as they flew through the packing, to see if they thought it might be possible to do this in one day. It was finally determined, no, they couldn’t, because the truck they brought was too small. They had been loading the truck as they packed, so they were 99% sure they didn’t have enough space and all those books are very heavy and the truck was definitely sinking on it’s tires!

So they finished about 430. At around 5 Adam got home from nursery and was like this: O_O at the empty flat. He ran from room to room for a bit before realizing that almost all of the previously off limits and locked cupboards were wide open. A small boy never had so much fun opening and closing doors!

The next morning we got up and finished the bits of packing we could do. At around 830 the movers arrived again and Simon and Adam took off for the house. We finished the packing and I called the taxi and we headed off.

Adam was having a great  time in his new garden:


When the trucks arrived Simon and Adam took off again to explore the neighbourhood while I directed the unload. By about 1130 it was done. We were moved in to our house.

The past week has been fairly hectic, not helped by Adam being ill with D&V and ear infections for most of it, including not sleeping well. There are some maintenance issues that need to be sorted, but the house is pretty much perfect.

There has been one amazing side effect, for me, in all this. I have always sworn I didn’t want to own a domicile. I do believe I’ve changed my mind. To the point that I am pricing houses in the neighbourhood…

I Haven’t Forgotten Y’all…

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So we’ve moved. Big post about that in the works.

Then Adam had a fever. Then D. Then D&V. Then D. And now D and a double ear infection. And he’s not sleeping well either due to the aforementioned D, V and ears or because it’s a new house and things are different and his schedule is wrong as due to the D, V and ears as he hasn’t been to nursery all week.

To say I am tired is the greatest understatement in the universe.