I woke up this morning when my clock said 5:30, and by the time I completed a series of Elaborate Calculations (is it really 4:30? is it really 6:30? did I set the clock to the correct time before I went to sleep?), I was wide awake and decided that a pot of coffee was in order.
Math always did make me crave caffeine.
So anyway.
Yesterday we had two showings, which was great news. The only downside of that news is that the realty company will only give you a “range” of when the people who are looking will be by the house. We had showings scheduled between 12 and 2, then between 3 and 5, and that can mean only one thing.
We spent our whole! afternoon! In the car! With the dogs! And a three year old!
OH MY SWEET MERCIFUL GOODNESS IT WAS INSANITY.
We did go to lunch and to a bookstore, and then we tried to temper the riding around with some time out of the car. We took the dogs for a long walk and enjoyed all the fall foliage outside, but around 2:00 D and I both started to get a little bit unnerved by All The Questions From Alex, and I finally had to tell A. that we were going to have quiet time until Mama’s nerves calmed down because if we didn’t have some quiet time right away I was going to have a Twitching Fit of epic proportions, something so severe and so memorable that Lifetime would want to make a movie about it. They would call the movie “When Mama Loses Her Mind,” and it would star Jennie Garth (but only if she’ll gain weight for the sake of her Craft) and Andrew Shue.
Not that I’ve given the whole scenario any thought. Or anything.
But you do have time to think about these things when you spend the whole afternoon RIDING AROUND IN THE CAR with TWO DOGS and a THREE YEAR OLD.
So by the time we got home and ate supper and got Alex in the tub, we were exhausted. We watched TV for about 16 minutes before we gave up the ghost and went to bed. It wasn’t even 9:30, which probably offers some insight as to why I was awake at 4:30 this morning and making my way through a pot of coffee by 4:45.
And the best part? We get to do the same thing this afternoon!
I think maybe we’ll try going to one of those indoor playgrounds - hopefully that’ll help combat the restlessness.
I can’t help but picture the dogs and me in one of those inflatables, jumping like crazy and taking turns going down the slide.
Stranger things have happened.
GranolaGirl says:
HIL-arious. I’m soo glad those days are behind me. I didn’t have a 3-year-old though, I had a 3-month-old. As for the dog? He was put in his crate and told to be quiet. Yeah right.
But you know the guy who eventually bought our house? The ones who came 2 hours late (we thought they’d already come and gone), when we were changing a dirty diaper and dishes in the sink and all kinds of real-life STUFF all over the place. Go figure.
October 29th, 2006 at 4:11 pm
Mountain Mama says:
You sure write it up funny, even if it was a difficult time. I had five kids so there was constant noise, chattering, arguing, fighting, singing, etc, I just learned to tune it out. It’s a survival thing.
October 29th, 2006 at 6:10 pm
JenMom says:
HILARIOUS! I found myself in the opposite quandry Friday where is rained 2 inches over the course of ALL DAY LONG so I was stuck inside with a crazy dog and 3 whiny 2.5 year olds. I actually put them in the car ON PURPOSE for an hour so I could drive around with the music to cover their whines and their little bodies strapped in the car unable to get into trouble. :-)
October 29th, 2006 at 6:33 pm
Melanie says:
Take him to a movie next time. And the dogs,hmmm… I don’t know. Maybe they can sneak in inside your purse. We were trying to sell a house during my first trimester. All I wanted to do was eat Sonic tator tots and take a nap. I just wanted my husband to stay parked at Sonic and let me sleep.
October 29th, 2006 at 7:09 pm
Brenda says:
Okay, math first thing in the morning? That’s crazy talk if I ever heard it!
I didn’t “fall forward” before I went to bed, so I had to remember to leave the house by 8:30 so I could get to the church by 8:00.
Have fun at the playground!
October 29th, 2006 at 7:11 pm
Barb says:
Yuck. That doesn’t sound like fun at all. But hey! At least people are looking at the house. Maybe this will all end soon?
October 29th, 2006 at 8:11 pm
Blessed Beyond Measure says:
Petco or Petsmart, where you can take the kid and the dogs inside???? Theres something that always cracks me up completely when I read about Alex’s constant chatter. Sarah was the most talkative kid when she was about 4 or 5; she told her grandmother if she stopped talking she wouldnt be able to breathe; she breathed just fine, I promise.
By the way, no idea why; this is the second time I’ve actually seen your template - it just isnt there most of the time, so nice fall surprise today.
October 29th, 2006 at 8:32 pm
Tawnya says:
Omgoodness! You are a hoot! I love reading this. I am a realtor myself and I only give 1/2 hour timeline for showings. I hope you get a strong offer for all your patience!
October 29th, 2006 at 8:41 pm
kelli says:
I’m with Bev - run for PetSmart!
J is down with an “undetermined virus” (all that after 5 hours in the ER last night) so we are living through a SpongeBob marathon. Save me.
But again- if they’re looking … they may be buying :)
(and Jennie Garth / Andrew Shue? - pretty sweet!)
October 29th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
Linda says:
Oh how I love reading your posts. I hope you’re feeling better. I agree about Halloween :-)
October 29th, 2006 at 10:30 pm
Robin says:
I used to wait until I saw the lookers pull up in the drive, quickly put every one in my car and drive down the street. I just apologized and said my kids were not feeling great and I didn’t want to get them out for too long. (Which was usually the truth. =)
Then I would pull down the street so I could still see my house, but they wouldn’t see me and wait until they left. Usually about 10 min later. I figured if they were really interested in the house then, me leaving as they pulled in wouldn’t matter too much!
October 29th, 2006 at 10:31 pm
Merritt says:
Oh my gosh, the Jennie Garth comment is cracking me up!!!!!!!!!! “…for the sake of her craft”!!??? That is great. I guess the two of you do bear some resemblance. You always were a big fan of her and all the other 90210 cast members. Don’t you have every episode on VHS?
October 29th, 2006 at 11:52 pm
Fiddledeedee says:
That is funny. If I’m trapped in the car with my 3 kids, I just keep throwing food back at them. That keeps them somewhat quiet. Especially if it involves something caramel coated. Good thing we’re not trapped in the car often, they’d be HUGE! And have really bad teeth.
I hope you sell that house soon!
October 30th, 2006 at 3:33 am
jenn says:
LOL “gave up the ghost!” I love that saying!
October 30th, 2006 at 5:30 am
Big Mama says:
First, I am cracking up that Merritt asked if you have every episode of 90210 on VHS. I may or may not be guilty of this same offense.
Second, when we first looked at our house the mom was here with her 2 sick kids and the place was a wreck. We loved it and bought it anyway. :)
October 30th, 2006 at 1:42 pm
Sarah's in the Midst of It says:
I’m with Robin–I put Caiden on lookout, and when the realtor pulls up, we make a quick escape through the garage. Then we stealthily park down the street and see how long they spend inside looking! Of course, after 8 months on the market, I’m a little worn out:)
October 30th, 2006 at 3:02 pm
mombo says:
…and a snortin’ good time was had by all! I had TWO children, IN A ROW, that did not understand quiet. I remember the day when I decided either I was a bad mother, or there was a problem with my child. She fell asleep on the way home from PDO because she was on Rondec (Lord love it!) for some sinus thing. I thought to myself, “How long can she keep taking this stuff?” I can tell you that both children, now 17 and 14, are still as outgoing as then. At least they talk to others now, as well as Dear Old Mom.
October 30th, 2006 at 6:29 pm
Overwhelmed! says:
Yikes, 3 hours in the car!! I hope you can find entertaining things to do outside of the car today!
The Jennie Garth comment cracked me up. :)
October 30th, 2006 at 6:40 pm
Mike says:
I, too, use my 3-year old and 1-year old as excuses to do crazy things like going down the slide and playing with action figures, sound effects and saliva spewing within a meter radius and all.
Mike
http://somethingaboutparenting.typepad.com/
October 30th, 2006 at 7:43 pm
Homeschool Mama says:
It looks like your little man is doing his own version of “fall back” on your picture. So cute.
Good luck with the house thing. We went through that in April. yuck.
October 30th, 2006 at 8:15 pm
Homeschool Mama says:
Once we pulled across the street and watched a movie in the car with the kids buckled in. The person who bought the house was the person who left a message we got after we got home from church. We had to pack up and eat out. When we went back to the house after 1.5 hours, they were just pulling up. We waited down the street, where my husband swore they didn’t like it b/c they didn’t look back at it before they got into the car. He was wrong and we took the first offer. I was sick of the running out thing.
October 30th, 2006 at 8:20 pm
dawn says:
I hope you sell soon, and that your sinuses are better. In the meantime, you make it all sound fun!
October 30th, 2006 at 11:12 pm
Michelle says:
Bless your heart! That is called “through the fires” for sure!
And that certainly sounds like a show I’d watch.
October 31st, 2006 at 4:49 am
Carol says:
I hope that house sells quickly, don’t you? Otherwise, you may have to take up residence at Chuck E. Cheese.
October 31st, 2006 at 1:41 pm
MikeR says:
I am also a Realtor, and I can tell you that you are being done a disservice by being given a 2-hour window. Either the market in your area is a REAL buyer’s market, or you need to have a short prayer meeting with your Realtor.
October 31st, 2006 at 2:29 pm
Theresa says:
I’m little opposite of Sarah and Robin, although it’s fun to see who’s looking at your house after being on the market 7 months I don’t care who looks at it just buy it! :)
We usually leave during the window they give and head to the mall to the soft play area. This works out well because we can get lunch and the girls usually pass out in the car for naps after playing so hard. Our dogs are kept in the garage with food and water.
So there’s our madness for escape!
October 31st, 2006 at 3:06 pm
Tracy says:
LOL! Well, that would definitely be difficult, but you sure put a silly note into it all!! :D
October 31st, 2006 at 3:07 pm