Is it supposed to be this difficult?

Friday afternoon, Josh and I loaded up the kids and the car and we headed off to Spokane. The goal? Find a place to live beginning in June. I had done a lot of research, mostly on craigslist. I had contacted five landlords and had scheduled viewings of their rentals. Online these places looked great. Their listings said wonderful things about the rentals! Words like "charming" and "quaint" and "relaxing evenings" often were used to describe the homes. Ever the control freak, I was adamant about staying within a reasonable budget. 

Once we got to the address, we soon discovered why such great prices corresponded to such vague words. 

We stayed the weekend at our friends house, the parents of Will and Luke. We arrived shortly before 9pm, and we knew we had the right house because all we could see in the twilight night was two little boy faces and four little boy hands plastered against the large living room window that overlooked the street. It was so adorable when these four friends reunited! They played until almost 11 that night! 

W & L's daddy, who just passed the bar by the way, has lived in Spokane his entire life. Not only is he a true Spokanian, he also delivered pizza's in his early college years, so he knows the layout of Spokane like the palm of his hand. It was seriously the most amazing thing I have seen! He took one look at my list of five and within seconds told me which places would be okay, and which ones I should abandon all hope for. Not trusting W&L's dad, I insisted I see all the houses my self. 

I should have listened. Three of the five were terrible. One was okay, but super small and the last one? Well, the current tenants never got back to the landlord, so we were not able to go inside. As luck would have it, that last house was awesome. At least on the outside. 

W & L's dad scoured the paper and craigslist for us and found us some decent places in some great neighborhoods. We drive and looked. Several ended up being rented, some looked fabulous on craigslist, not so great in person, and a couple ended up being very promising, just not available till July, and we need to move in June. 

We did so much house hunting on the weekend, we were totally burned out by Sunday afternoon. Then we found a house 5 blocks away from Will and Luke. The pictures looked amazing. The yard was fenced in. There was a two-car garage. It was totally out of our price range. But we walked by anyway and I fell in love with it. 

We set up a walk-through and I just fell in love with it more. This home was almost completely destroyed by a fire a couple years ago. The couple that bought it, is a contractor, so he totally remodeled the entire house. There are dark and beautiful hardwood floors on the main level, stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, bay windows, two lovely bathrooms, new carpet in the bedrooms, a very large family room and attractive paint in all rooms. This is totally not a rental that I am used to! 

My step-father taught me early in life that you can bargain anything. And really, you can. What is the worst that can happen? You will hear "no." You just have to be prepared for the "no" when it comes. 

Now, this house was being offered at $1295/month. As a bonus for signing a year-lease, the renters would get May for free. Because we were there on May 10th and the home was obviously not rented, I assumed that the advertisement for May's rent free, would transfer over to June if the home was not rented in May. So I called up the landlord after the tour and offered them this: instead of a month free, we would pay $1150/month. She did not like that, so I then offered her $1200/month. That is when I discovered that the "rent special" they are offering is NOT going to be carried over to the next month if the home is not rented. In other words, they are only offering MAY for free, not the first month. 

Mathematically my way is financially beneficial to the landlords. Assuming they don't rent in May. IF they rent in May, they will make $14,245 for one year, May to May. If they took my offer of $1200/month, they would make $14,400 for one year, June to June. She said she would talk to her husband and get back to me. She did, very fast. They counter offered $1250/month. 

Taking a risk, I stuck to my original offer of $1200. Several reason really. One, the house, while not in a bad neighborhood, it is also not in the best. If renters in Spokane can afford $1300/month, they will look to the South Hill, where the super fancy and very nice neighborhoods are. Another reason, it is a corner lot. We will hear two ways of cross traffic. The house is definitely the nicest on the block. And I took a gamble that since it has been on the market for almost two months, it was not going to rent at that higher price, especially since the offer is only good in May, and May is quickly approaching it's halfway mark. 

I gambled and I lost. Thinking on the long drive home, Josh and I reviewed our finances. We asked friends and family for advice. Making a long story short, we decided that we would call them up and accept their offer. Right when we got home, I reviewed Josh's salary information from Sacred Heart. Turns out he is making more then I thought. Turns out we should have accepted the house in Spokane. Then I looked up the ad again to get the landlords phone number. That is when I saw it. In large letters "utilities included." That is right. The price of $1250/month includes water, sewer and garbage. Wow. Great deal. 

I called right away. She did not answer. I left a message. She has not returned my call. This morning when I looked up houses in craigslist, I saw that she re-posted the home, using even better description words and nicer pictures. So, there is my answer. She is taking a gamble that they will rent the house this month. I was betting that it would not. I am going to keep watch to find out who wins. 

I guess the only good of this, is that I know that we can afford more than we originally thought. So, now I have some more prospects and places that we are interested in. Wish us luck. This is much harder than we thought!

Makeup Anyone?

Apparently there is a great make-up company called e.l.f (eyes, lips, face). Well, they were purchased by Nordstrom, so the name of the company is now changing. In an effort to clear out their inventory with the old name, they are having an amazing sale on some fabulous make-up. Everything is only $1.00. Yes, I typed that correctly. ONE DOLLAR. Here is the link in case anybody in interested in some seriously great deals.

http://www.eyeslipsface.com/

Fruit Fly Conspiracy

I do not like fruit flies. I never have. There is something terribly annoying about their tiny bodies secretly devouring my fruit. About six months ago we had a serious outbreak and Levi was my murderer in crime. He got really good at clapping his hands at the precise moment and terminating bug life. Our clapping, combined with a banana slice sealed in a jar, was a success, and it has been awhile since those things have been in my kitchen. 

Until this morning. Levi spotted him first. Buzzing over the bananas; delicately landing on the apples. Levi apparently had lost his fruit fly killing abilities, because that bug was annoying me several minutes later. 

I overheard Levi instructing Claire on the fine art of fruit fly killing. This is what he told her:

"Okay, Bitty, what you do is you wait real still, then you see the fruit fly, then you crap on him!"

Translation: "You CLAP on him."

They are both downstairs searching for the fly. I hope they find him. And his 10,000 siblings. 

Pascha Feast Pictures

I did not want to put these next four pictures into the slide show because I felt they needed their own explanation.

Here is Claire. She had just sat down in the grass with her dessert. As you can see, as she sat, she knocked her dessert (a chocolate bird's nest with M&M's for eggs) into the grass.

Here is is realizing what she did; and figuring out the best way do deal with the problem.

Here she decides that it is much easier to eat the M&M's off the ground.

And here she is reacting to the grass in her face!

Pascha (Orthodox Easter) Homily

If any man be devout and loveth God,

Let him enjoy this fair and radiant triumphal feast!

If any man be a wise servant,

Let him rejoicing enter into the joy of his Lord.

If any have laboured long in fasting,

Let him how receive his recompense.

If any have wrought from the first hour,

Let him today receive his just reward.

If any have come at the third hour,

Let him with thankfulness keep the feast.

If any have arrived at the sixth hour,

Let him have no misgivings;

Because he shall in nowise be deprived therefore.

If any have delayed until the ninth hour,

Let him draw near, fearing nothing.

And if any have tarried even until the eleventh hour,

Let him, also, be not alarmed at his tardiness.

For the Lord, who is jealous of his honour,

Will accept the last even as the first.

He giveth rest unto him who cometh at the eleventh hour,

Even as unto him who hath wrought from the first hour.

And He showeth mercy upon the last,
And careth for the first;

And to the one He giveth,

And upon the other He bestoweth gifts.

And He both accepteth the deeds,

And welcometh the intention,

And honoureth the acts and praises the offering.

Wherefore, enter ye all into the joy of your Lord;

Receive your reward,

Both the first, and likewise the second.

You rich and poor together, hold high festival!

You sober and you heedless, honour the day!

Rejoice today, both you who have fasted

And you who have disregarded the fast.

The table is full-laden; feast ye all sumptuously.

The calf is fatted; let no one go hungry away.

Enjoy ye all the feast of faith:

Receive ye all the riches of loving-kindness.

Let no one bewail his poverty,

For the universal Kingdom has been revealed.

Let no one weep for his iniquities,

For pardon has shown forth from the grave.

Let no one fear death,

For the Saviour's death has set us free.

He that was held prisoner of it has annihilated it.

By descending into Hell, He made Hell captive.
He embittered it when it tasted of His flesh.

And Isaiah, foretelling this, did cry:

Hell, said he, was embittered When it encountered Thee in the lower regions.

It was embittered, for it was abolished.

It was embittered, for it was mocked.

It was embittered, for it was slain.

It was embittered, for it was overthrown.

It was embittered, for it was fettered in chains.

It took a body, and met God face to face.

It took earth, and encountered Heaven.

It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen.

O Death, where is thy sting?

O Hell, where is thy victory?

Christ is risen, and thou art overthrown!

Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!

Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!

Christ is risen, and life reigns!

Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in the grave.

For Christ, being risen from the dead,

Is become the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.

To Him be glory and dominion

Unto ages of ages. Amen.

-----The Paschal sermon of St John Chrysostom is read aloud in every Orthodox parish on the morning of the Great and Holy Pascha Jesus Christ.

Claire's will power

I will adamantly admit to one major mistake Josh and I made thus far in our short years of parenting. Of course, it started innocently enough. We made the same “mistake” with Levi, but somehow he was not negatively affected and this issue never became a problem with him. Claire is a different story; she is a different child; and she has enormous will power.

Our mistake? Co-habitation. I love sleeping with my children. I love looking at their beautiful, peaceful faces, kissing them goodnight one extra time, and knowing that they are safe next to me. Levi often slept with Josh and I. It was very satisfying. Very rarely, he wakes up in the dark of night, and mysteriously appears in our bed. He is cautious, gentile, quiet, and most importantly, still.

There is no quiet bone in Claire’s body. Cautious and gentile are not words that mean a lot to Claire. And at night, she is anything but still.

Claire coming to our bed started rather harmless. She would wake up crying around midnight, we would be tired, and just brought her to bed with us. That slowly morphed into her crying a bit, getting out of her own bed and loudly making her way to our bed. Naturally, she transformed again. This time into a quiet child who noiselessly crept into our room, climbed effortlessly into our bed, and instantly fell asleep. Neither Josh nor I knew she had come in. That is, until she moved. Claire is a big fan of sleeping sideways. She also likes having her head on a stomach and her feet on the other person’s stomach. She switched stomachs often during the night. Needless to say, this got annoying rather fast.

We should have put a stop to it earlier, but it just kind of crept up on us, gradually. When the kids came back from Grandma Kay’s after my surgery, we decided it was the perfect time to put a stop to our unwanted bedmate. We had a perfect excuse too; Claire has been obsessed with my scar. She asks me everyday to see my band-aids and is very concerned because I cannot carry her. “You not carry me momma?” I hear daily. “Your belly hurts momma?”

So, six nights ago we did it. We talked to Claire and laid down the ground rules. We told her that my belly hurt too much and that she had to sleep in her bed. All night. She totally was on board. No problem. Until 12:30 that is. Of course, she woke up. Of course, she screamed, and, of course, we had our first battle. That night she woke up Levi and he was pretty upset. Our solution that night was to let Levi sleep with Josh and I would sleep in Levi’s bed to comfort Claire during the night. Worked out great. The next night she woke up, and we did another variation of the previous night. Worked out even better than the previous night. On the third night, she woke up, but went back to sleep wonderfully in her own bed with not much complaint. The fourth and fifth nights were perfect. No noise. No crying. All sleeping. I totally thought we had it.

Last night I went to bed a bit before 11. Josh was working on a PowerPoint presentation for his Emergency Room rotation that he has to give on Monday. Around midnight he heard a sound upstairs in the bathroom. He went up to investigate and found Claire. He asked her if she had to go to the bathroom, and something about the way he asked or the words he used just did not sit well with Claire. She started screaming. She started yelling. She started crying.

Lately Claire has been doing a lot of these tantrums during the day, and we just have been ignoring her. Josh applied the same principle. He let her cry and carry on in the bathroom for about half an hour. Her favorite position during that time? On her back kicking the bathroom door. Don’t forget, she was screaming the entire time. She finally managed to get up and open the door. She then carried on her tantrum in the hallway.

During all this she kept screaming “I wanna sleep in momma bed!” Over and over, we heard this request. Josh would calmly tell her no, wait a bit to see if she was going to settle down, then leave her to her tantrum.

Earlier in the day I had just finished reading John Grisham’s book “The Chamber.” This book follows the last four weeks of a death-row inmate and his lawyer as they try every single appeal possible to halt the execution. From insanity to ineffective legal counsel. They try every appeal at the three possible levels: state, federal, and supreme courts. There are many times that we hear “no” to the same argument. Last night, Claire reminded me a lot of the lawyer in The Chamber. She used every argument she could think of, with the end goal being her sleeping in our bed. Here are a few of my favorites. “Papa said yes,” “Momma said yes,” “I am cold,” “I will sleep really fast,” “I’m tired,” and “I don’t like Bitty bed” (Bitty is her nickname). Again, each excuse was preceded with “I wanna sleep in momma bed” and was accompanied with tons of snot, tears, and yelling. At one point she tried to run by Josh in an attempt to sneak into our room. She really did try everything.

This lasted until 1:45am when she finally fell asleep in the hallway. She slept there on a blanket and covered herself with a towel for the rest of the night. She got the towel from the cabinet when she was banging the door against the wall a zillion times. Her last words to Josh? “I love you Papa.”

Levi once again proves that he is capable of sleeping through anything. He never knew what was happening just five feet from his bed. Amazing.

I am so totally amazed by the way Josh handled Claire last night. He was so calm and patient with her. I know that things would have ended a lot differently if I was the one dealing with this tantrum. Even when Claire was yelling for me, and screaming that she did not want Papa, he told her no, and that she had to deal with him.

Wow, last night was hard. It definitely beats out the newborn baby stage. I feel so sorry for my neighbors, with whom we share a bathroom wall. I am sure Claire was perfectly audible in their apartment last night. Sorry.