I will never...

...be pregnant and move at the same time ever again.

And so it begins...

We're moving to our new temporary home this weekend. We were going to do it Tuesday but the owners of the house gave us the keys on Friday and said we could start whenever we want. Justin and our friends Ryan and Jen made a few trips over there to primarily take things we had boxed up a few weeks ago. Our other friend Joe is letting us borrow his truck this weekend so that's helped a lot. Joe, Ryan, and Jen said they could all help us tomorrow to move the big stuff like beds, dressers, etc.

This is a pretty difficult process for me because not only am I not allowed to do too much lifting because of the pregnancy but I'm also really the only person besides Justin who can watch Madeleine. I feel guilty for not being able to contribute much in a physical labor sort of way. The hardest part of this for both of us is knowing that we'll most likely be doing it again in a few weeks.

I haven't posted much on Justin's job process because things change with every day. While we're still waiting to hear news from the Vet Center, Justin's also taken initiative to seek out alternative options. He's already lined up an interview in Helena for next Monday and plans to map out a few more over the coming weeks. We're hoping we'll have some offer in hand by the third full week in August because there's a chance our homeowners will be closing on their house around then. Of course they didn't start getting any interest in their house until we agreed to rent it. At times we feel like we're operating under Murphy's Law but yet we hope beyond all hope that this is all for the best.

I have to go and keep packing for most of the night so we can get almost everything out while we have the help tomorrow. Be glad if you don't live near us because otherwise we'd be enlisting your help too (but then again you'd get free beer and pizza so it might be worth it).

Bangs

I couldn't take Madeleine's comb-over hairstyle any longer so I decided to cut her some bangs Sunday morning. Justin was slightly taken aback that I made such an authoritative decision and he initially complained that he missed her crazy hair. To prove that she still has some "crazy" in her hair genes, I put her hair in pig tails one morning and this is how she looked after waking up from her morning nap. I'm just glad I don't have to keep hair clips on me to make sure she doesn't eat her hair with every bite of grape (or yogurt or broccoli or whatever) now. What do you think?

Stupid fireworks

I hate fireworks people buy at little stands for super cheap and then use to annoy the crud out of their neighbors. We're almost a month past Independence Day and kids around our neighborhood are still lighting them. This led to some excitement this past Saturday night when some of those started a grass fire behind the townhouses at the end of our street. Fortunately some friends of ours who live there noticed, called 911, and solicited help from all of us to put it out. I didn't do much more than talk to someone from 911 and direct the fire chief but Justin and another neighbor hooked up hoses to get water on it. Others were out with shovels. Most of the fire was out by the time the fire truck got here thanks to the efforts of everyone. We all had bloodshot eyes from the smoke and ash fell on our cars but besides that there was little damage. We consider ourselves fortunate because if one of the homes had caught fire our entire development would have been in danger. Even though we had a wet spring and early summer, fire season is still in full swing and this was a good reminder to all of us to be careful. And to call the cops whenever those kids start up again!

It pays to do your research

Or in my case, it didn't pay because I didn't do my research. I'm referring to a china plate we put in with our other Goodwill items that Justin dropped off Monday. I had a feeling it might have been worth something but hadn't gotten around to verifying my hunch so Thursday afternoon I ran back to Goodwill to see if it had been set out and sold. Unfortunately it had.

Justin's mom got this plate for us from a Goodwill a few years ago (for a few dollars) after we had taken our first vacation together up to Niagara. We drove that thing across the country and it sat in a closet for three years, appreciating in value apparently. Here's what it would have been worth today: http://www.rubylane.com/shops/dottiesglass/item/2725. Oh well...I guess you can't win them all. I hope the person who bought it has more sense than I did. At least someone is interested in buying Justin's guitar.

Our life in progress

Today we met with the homeowners of the house we'll be renting for at least one month. What awesome people! We worked out some details and spent a little time getting to know one another. I feel so fortunate to have this situation sorted out, at least for the moment. If you want to get a taste of the place, go to http://www.prumt.com/property/detail/804820/. They are letting us move in on July 29th but said we can begin moving our stuff in next week if we want. I'm so grateful this will work out (as long as the house doesn't sell in the next two weeks...and even if it does they said they'll try to work in at least a one month stay for us with the buyers).

Justin has spent some time calling various mental health clinics inquiring about open positions. I'm impressed with his ability to make cold calls and be so confident on the phone. He has sent his resume off to a few different places and has an interview tomorrow afternoon. If nothing else this will be a great exercise for him to brush up his interviewing skills. I hope it also increases his sense of being a highly qualified and employable therapist.

I'm still working on packing up the house. With every box I realize how much more junk I have as compared to Justin. I am trying to purge (and sell) many things but I also realize that the home is simply my dominion: I live and work here so the majority of it will likely be used by me. Nevertheless, I'm getting tired of pondering questions such as should I keep the partially used bottle of facewash. By this time next week I'm sure I'll be answering questions like that by chucking items into big black garbage bags. I just hope I have good aim.

A profitable day

Justin looked at me dubiously whenever I first told him I wanted to try to sell some of our stuff on Craigslist. After today, his looks are full of glowing pride. I made $70 by getting rid of things while also making other people very happy. Then, to top it off, I asked Justin to take a bunch of our giveaway books to a used book store and he got $75 in store credit and $48 cash! Not bad for a stay-at-home mom. I'm thinking that if his whole job search doesn't work out he can stay at home and I'll make millions selling stuff I find at thrift shops. I've already made almost $100 by taking clothes to a consignment shop over the last year. Who knows where it could lead?