Not Sure What To Call It

The day started with a bit of wondering what I would title today's post. It has been awhile since I blogged. We've been . . . busy. Over the course of the day . . . the title changed, several times.

Toddler Sleeps In: Everett slept in until 9:00. I actually wondered if he was alive. That event in itself is blog worthy since he is usually up between 6:30-7:00.

HIVES: Then I broke out in HIVES after breakfast. I get hives for two reasons--random combination allergy (when I am allergic to eating a combo of two things--and I never know what two things it is) or when I am stressed. Guess which reason it was this time.

I Live In a Furniture Store: One of the things I've been working on is figuring out how to stage the house since our furniture will be in storage in Texas. Most of you know I passed along many, many items this past fall during Purge 2008. I could kick myself because I could have used many of those items. Over the past week we have purchased a bed, couch, reading chair, dining table and chairs, and decorating accessories. I've been to all the thrift stores, repeatedly. Craigslist will be invited to Christmas dinner, and IKEA will be the middle name of our next child. Doing this myself has been cheaper than hiring a stager and renting furniture--so I guess it is worth it. It sure has increased the work load around here and made it really cramped storing furniture for two houses. BUT, when we sell the home, some lucky people will be able to buy this furniture from us for a steal.






Laugh or Cry?: During his nap, Everett stripped down to his birthday suit, including ridding himself of his pesky diaper. And, yes, that means there was nothing to catch the inevitable pee.



When Friends Are Family: We had a chance to visit with some friends that we've been known with for a long time. It was a much needed visit and important since we won't be around very soon. Like, we'll be gone in a week.

Cloning Might Be a Good Idea: Just as with any move, there are tons of things to do. Getting the house ready to sell has compounded the list. We are doing well. (Better since my family did so much last weekend which I need to record.) We are both tired, the boys are feeling our stress, and I wish it would warm up a few days so that we could work on curb appeal. In any case, our days in Virginia are in the single digits.

Big D Here We Come

On February 8th, we'll be flying in the big sky to get to Big D . . . Dallas. Erik has taken a position with Emerson Electric, and we are so excited about this next phase of our lives!

Pardon our silence as Sheila worries about every detail of getting the house ready to sell, finances, moving, and anything else she can possibly think of . . . and anything else she dreams about. Erik will be busily getting the house in order from top to bottom. And, the boys, well, they'll be reacting to the stress and keeping us moving.

And, in the immortal words of the Texas (Longhorn) Cheer: TEXAS, TEXAS,YEEHAW!

(We are moving to a more rural area of Dallas, I'm working on fitting in.)

On This Day In History

Everett's first head wound and he figures out how to get out of the pack-n-play. Guess that head bump didn't mess up any cognitive skills.

Our Day

Evy Teaching Merritt About Peekaboo, Merritt Wasn't Convinced That It Was Fun--Evidence Was the Crying

Evy Trying to Convince Us That He Didn't Have to Go to Bed But Could He and Merritt Could Sleep Together, and, Yes, He Figured Out How to Unsnap His Onesie WITH His Pants On

30 Seconds, Chocolate, My Shirt

You Know That Licking The Spots Doesn't Make It Better?--I Am So Cool

The Colors of Love

COLOR ONE
I don't get out much . . . at all. I did, for the first time, get to Target on Friday with Merritt in tow. That is a pretty major milestone considering how long Merritt goes without eating. And, it was freaking cold this Friday . . . like you thought the chill would take the skin off your nose.

This weekend, though, I was able to see so many of my friends that I haven't seen for months. Cool Friend Elise hosted a baby shower to introduce Merritt. It was wonderful to see so many ladies come, some from quite a distance, to meet Merritt and tell me that they cared. Goodness knows that we are all very busy, and it was nice to visit with friends. One very creative touch was that they all signed a quilt that Elise made--which created a lasting artifact of a very meaningful gathering. And, yes, Everett did consider stealing it because it is so SOFT, but it remains mine to use.

The party was such a blessing for someone that has been isolated for quite a while. In general, we wanted to stay away from the public because of prime germ time . . . but even everyday excursions were eliminated and replaced with extreme sleep deprivation--given Merritt's needs. This period has been really hard to handle. Seeing my friends, seeing how they took time for me, and seeing how happy they are for me and the next phase of our life was a "bucket filler." Thank you so much, Ladies!

COLOR TWO
We've had to do some major work to get the townhouse ready to sell. Given the market, the "detailed touches" of the home have to be perfect compared to a couple of years ago. This has created a work burden for us which wouldn't be as hard to weather if we weren't so sleep deprived, didn't have a very short amount of time to do it--and the fact that we have a newborn and a toddler put a major time consumer on projects.

Enter in two amazing people who came to help us this weekend paint the huge area walls in our living room. The walls are really high and full of angles (which is great architecturally). I didn't think that we would be able to do it. But, because of their thoughtfulness and willingness to set aside their busy lives, we were able to get a great start on it. Their help has made the difference between a crazy sleep deprived mother and just a regular sleep deprived mother.

COLOR THREE
Comforting emails, soothing phone calls, a random offer of dinner, loan of a ladder, a spontaneous hug, and an insightful offer of help have provided comfort for me this week. It has been really hard. Hard because we are facing a major transition and hard because the sleep deprivation makes minor things seem like huge hurdles.

It has been amazing to see the selflessness of others particularly when they are giving to someone who has been out of the loop for awhile. I haven't been the most social creature for much of the past year and the acts of kindness aren't dictated by what I do for others. No "tit for tat" with this group. People are helping because they care about us and love us. What a powerful and humbling thing friendship is.

(sometimes passive voice just feels better to use)

Chills and Thrills

You know those major life events surveys meant to show the level of stress that you are under? You know where they list out major life changes with an associated point value . . .
The Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory . . . here are a couple that have hit us this year--

Major personal injury or illness
Pregnancy
Gaining a new family member (i.e.. birth)
Spouse beginning or ceasing work outside the home
Major change in financial state (i.e.. a lot worse or better off than usual)
Major change in living condition (remodeling)
Major change in sleeping habits (a lot more or a lot less than usual)
Major change in church activity (i.e.. a lot more or less than usual)
Major change in social activities (clubs, movies,visiting, etc.)
Major change in financial state
Changing to a different line of work

We will soon hit:
Changes in residence

Bringing our grand total to . . . drumroll please . . . 367. According to this survey, that means that there is more than an 80% chance of a major health breakdown in the next two years.

We are a bit stressed here in the Sjolseth House. There are many positive things happening. It will take about 6 months or so for some of this stress to dissipate. In the time being, we are trying to hold the seams together. None of us are sleeping well and it is starting to show. Right now, Erik is continuing his close relationship with painters tape. Sheila is trying to keep sleep deprived Everett from getting paint on the floor, again. And, thankfully, Merritt is taking a quiet nap.

We'll have more news on what is happening by the end of this week.

Evy Giving Clifford a Snack

Selling Our Townhouse

We are putting our townhouse up for sale! When we moved in we were a couple without kids. It has grown with us through 2 children and has been the best hot spot for all of our parties. (We've had up to 70 people here at one time for a party.) We sure are going to miss this home, but it just isn't in the location that we need to be right now as we are moving further out.

It is a 3 bedroom, 2 and 1/2 bath three level townhouse in Reston, under one mile from two planned metro stops on the Silver line. There is a finished walk-out basement with a storage section in the basement as well. The back looks out on a golfcourse.

There is a screened-in porch off the dining room. The eat-in kitchen has a new fridge and dishwasher, and the heat/ac unit is new as well. In the back, there is a deck right outside the basement sliding glass door.

The community has many, many amenities from pools to tennis courts to even a playground just a short walk down the sidewalk from our front door.

Here are a couple of pictures we took a couple of years ago. We've made many upgrades and changes since then. Once I get pictures up, I'll post them.

If you are interested in seeing our townhouse or speaking to our realtor, just email me: sheila.sjolseth@gmail.com

Merritt's Smile

Evy's First Major Production

Lead: Everett

Supporting Cast: Everett

Choreographer: Everett

Special Effects: Everett

Director: Everett

The Show: Happy Feet

(great movie for adults and kids)

Everett felt moved to perform with his own version, complete with fancy footwork, and, yes, snow. Yes, he helped clean it up, too.

Back In Time

I feel like I am back in high school again . . . (we've got lots going on in the Sjolseth House, and I hope that we'll be able to give you more details soon.)

No, I'm not in the picture. But, I could have been.

I feel like I could be back as a senior in high school.

We've had to make a decision where we had to choose one guy over another for a pretty major milestone in our journey . . . kind of like choosing a date for prom. (I'm voting for the guy that is the tallest, go figure.)

I've been up all night every night this week--sort of like when I would prep for semester exams (Yes, I was a nerd) or that one time I stayed up late on the phone with a boy. It *is* a boy that is keeping me up all night now, a boy called Merritt. (BTW, I wasn't a phone talker, even with the boys.)

I've had to manage and come to terms with a gossipy friend. Get over the disappointment, appreciate the friendships that I have that are unconditional and loving, and just forget about the offense.

We are poised for a major transition and are very excited . . . and unsure about several things . . . which reminded me of when I was filling out scholarship forms, college applications, and deciding what I want to be when I *grow* up.

I'm tired. I *was* tired all the time as a senior in high school--school, jobs, church activities. The difference here is I don't have teenage resilience on my side or that feeling of invincibility. I know full well that a colicky baby can kick my butt.

Our car is falling apart piece by piece, right now it only has one "eye." Only my sisters can appreciate the similarities between that and our blue short-bed family van that I had the blessing of driving during high school. The van where the driver's side door would fling open while you were driving. The van that had windshield wipers that would come on at odd times (like when it was too cold) without any prompt from the driver. The van that Marmaduke the drug dog would bark at each time--well, at least it got me out of Physics.

One difference that I appreciate is that if my *boss* (the toddler) is unhappy, I can bribe him with Nemo. That wouldn't have worked with my boss, the principal, my teachers, or my parents.

I wonder if I used a diffuser and bought a can of Aquanet if I could reclaim a physical remnant of that time, too.

new tag: musings of the sleep deprived

Merritt-7 Weeks

Merritt is now 7 weeks old. He has certainly hit all the typical growth spurt milestones as if he wrote the "how babies grow" book himself. We have seen our share of colic (hours from 4 pm to 1 am are the hardest for him--thank goodness we believe in GripeWater), and he still eats and eats every 2-3 hours. So, we stay pretty close to home.

By my very unscientific scale at home, he is hitting 13 pounds. We've had to move the straps up in his car seat. He still hates the car seat.

Merritt is starting to smile more and more. He enjoys listening to Everett tell him stuff . . . about cars, drawing, the Cat, and eating.

Matching Threads

The handsome duo this past Sunday for church.

Don't worry, Merritt and I were wearing matching outfits . . . pajamas!

Merritt Walker Sjolseth

Skills

Another story in pictures . . .

Getting Dressed, Take One

Getting Dressed, Take Two

He is getting there.

Doesn't His Mom Comb His Hair?

. . . and other touching moments that occurred during this holiday season.

We just sent my sister, Debbie, and her husband, Arthur (or "Apple" as Everett called him) back to Texas today. They were with us for the holidays, and we had a great time with them. It was a nice chance to get to know her husband and catch up with her.

We spent the time talking, eating smores, eating queso, going on walks, playing games, drinking Martinelli's, cooking, watching kids, watching movies, sitting by fires, and enjoying extra hands around the house. I was actually able to make Christmas and New Year's dinner because they were around to help with Everett and the cooking. We were also able to make our apple chutney, something I had been trying to do since September. Cooking is so hard to do right now, and I am grateful to have the chance to do some.

We enjoyed a fun and easy going Christmas Day. Our lesson on Jesus lasted about 10 seconds. Everett was the expert "su-prise" unwrapper. (He thinks that presents are called "surprises" because the idea of unwrapping gifts finally cemented for him at a birthday party where we all yelled "SURPRISE!") Merritt lounged around, a wee bit cranky that morning. All of us enjoyed the thoughtfulness of family and friends as we opened the gifts, knowing how much effort goes into choosing something for the gift exchanges.

Other things that occurred: DONUTS, Indian food, getting lost on the way home from DC, "Unlimited time at the Museum of Natural History," the catching cold, early morning Nemo, introduction of our fave shows--"addicted to Burn Notice," cutting up pears--again, peppermint icecream, Chicken Tortilla soup, Take Two, the murder game, the imporance of ants, and diaper lessons.

We did have several stressful things occur while they were here, and it was great to have them around to be an icebreaker and a support. Thanks, Debbie and Arthur!