Tuesday, March 1, 2011

All Squished In

Daughter and grandbaby have arrived and son is almost completely moved in. So far so good, it's actually working out. We had space for most of the stuff, and we have a little storage available in the garage thanks to our decluttering and donation frenzy. Of course, there wasn't much because what she couldn't squeeze into that one car she left behind.

Grandbaby arrived cursing like a drunken sailor on shore leave after a year at sea. (Thanks baby daddy.) He's only two so the phase won't last. As soon as we are over our sporadic fits of giggles we'll correct him.

We didn't know how dog and baby would get along. This was a concern because in this small house there are no extra rooms to separate the two. There were a few minutes of sniffing and how-de-do and then baby brought out his play balls and the dog brought out her bone and her favorite squeaky toy. They are instant best friends. Grandbaby grabbed the dogs favorite squeaky toy (a blue football) held it out and said, "Mine!" and then jumped on the bed with it and said, "Ha ha." He held onto that ball all day and went to sleep clutching it that night. She only just got it back today. They are going to be just fine.

With all of this going on, my husband and I haven't much time to ponder anything else. We were excited because I managed to get a Sunday off and were planning to go on a long overdue day out but my brother left a day early and Sunday was the day when they arrived at our house. That's okay, I'm not complaining. It was still a good day. A few days ago, however, my husband called me at work and said, "Hey, guess what we both forgot?" For the life of me I couldn't think of a thing. He then said, "Happy late anniversary!" Oh well, there's always next year.

6 comments:

  1. There is nothing, BUT NOTHING, like family. I'm happy for your kids because they have a soft place to fall and I'm happy for you because you are making some tremendous memories. Even if you forget some stuff!

    Love,
    Mother Connie

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  2. Hey Connie, I look at it this way. At least we both forgot. :)

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  3. Fair's fair if you both forgot. :)

    Glad you guys are all settling in ok, and best of luck with the continued settling. I'm sure the adjusting will take some time. It's really cute how the baby and dog figured each other out.

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  4. I bet it feels good to have a dog in your home again :-)

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  5. Are you pretty well settled now?

    I used to own a two-bedroom rent house. I had a tenant with two teenage boys, and I thought it was small for them and their dog. Unbeknownst to me, her daughter and baby moved in, too. I can't even imagine 5 people and a dog in that little house. However, they made it work. And they were exceptional tenants, so I didn't get on their case. The only thing I noticed as a landlord was that there was a lot more wear and tear on the house because so many people were living in it. Really watch for that, or your landlord might hit you for a lot of maintenance charges when you move. Fix everything and paint or touch up rooms that need it before you move. Just make sure you use the landlord's paint for touch-up--she touched up with what she thought matched, and I had to repaint the entire interior to get rid of the spots! (And, no, I didn't charge her for it--but I should have).

    I grew up in tiny houses. The first one had 600 sq. ft. and one bedroom, and my sister and I slept on the sofa in the living room until I was 10 and she was 13. We moved to an 800 sq. ft. two bedroom house where the two of us shared a bedroom until we grew up and left. When I was a kid, I would have KILLED for my own room!

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  6. Revanche, the dog is very happy to have someone in the house who spills food so often.

    Nolaffing, we still miss Chloe terribly.

    Mikemax, I always have a good relationship with my landlord. I repair what I can myself, and write a letter to ask for repairs on larger things. When the fridge went out I offered to buy my own if they would allow me to have the old one hauled away. I also usually pay rent a week early. I've heard horror stories so I know not all tenants are careful with their temporary home. At any rate, my son will only be here two to four months and then my daugher will have the room and we will only be one baby extra from the number of people on the original lease. We moved here with a dog and the youngest daughter. So far so good, we are all existing peacefully and neatly in our small space. :)

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