Cuteness and Nostalgia All Rolled Into One

Tonight, as I watched Adara climb into bad and get all cozy, I got misty-eyed. Since we had changed the sheets on the beds today, her (large) collection of stuffed animals was in disarray, so she very carefully tucked each of them into their assigned place. I heard her whispering their names as she tucked them in ("Kicky...Buster...Piglet...Brownie") and not only was it adorable, it was like a flashback to being little, because I remember doing the very same thing.

It's good to remember that despite looking and acting more like her Dad, she and I do have things in common. And it's good to remember the little joys that are part of childhood, and experience them again by being a parent. What a blessing these sweet kids are to me. I am so grateful for them.

Back!

We're home safely (the good news) and the house hasn't sold yet (the bad news). Nice little summary, hey? *grin*

The drives were as long as expected, but the kids were troopers as usual. It was great to see the outside of our new home - such a pretty house, and such a lovely neighbourhood - and we had fun visiting the zoo. We bought annual memberships, as we had always planned to if we ever moved to Calgary. The kids and I will be visiting often. The stay at the cabin went well, and it was great to reconnect with our old friends. The only problem we ran into was that whereas Trev and our friends had all had hectic, stressful weeks leading up to our trip, I had spent most of my time waiting (in between waiting for the assessors, the concrete repair guy, the wall repair guy, and the realtor, I was pretty much tied to the house). So while everyone else was quite content to have one trip a day and then relax the rest of the time, I was often bored and restless. I shouldn't really complain - life is rarely perfect, and we all had fun, especially the kids who loved having hours to play in the sand and water.

We came back early so that Trev could catch the Friday afternoon flight back to Calgary; he needed to get some work done before Monday rolled around. It's hard having him gone after being together for a week...thankfully it will only be a matter of weeks before we move and we're all together again.

No Such Luck

Apparently, the family that viewed the house decided that it wasn't suitable as a primary residence for them...although they are considering buying it as a rental property. Too bad.

On the plus side, it appears that we are going to have a real summer vacation after all! We have dear friends that have been given access to a lovely cabin near Lake Okanagan next week, and they invited us quite a while ago to come out and share it with them. Although Trev booked the week off work, it was up in the air as to whether we could make it for the longest time, first because we were sort of hoping to use that time for moving, and then later for other reasons. Since everything seems to have worked out, we'll be heading off this weekend to enjoy some well-earned "R&R", leaving our portion of the house clear for viewings anytime. This will make our realtor's job easier, since he'll only have to clear viewings with Mom, and won't have to worry about our kids making evening showings difficult.

We'll be making the trip in 2 stages, one 8 hour stint to Calgary, and another 8 hour stint to the cabin, with a stay over at Trev's temporary accommodations in between. Our trip out will be made more exciting by our taking a day to look at our new home (at least the outside, probably not the inside), our new neighbourhood, and the Calgary Zoo. We'll be doing what has become our standard travelling pattern of leaving very, very early (somewhere around 4AM), so that the kids sleep for 2 or 3 hours of the 8, plus Connor having his noontime nap while driving as well. Makes for a much more relaxing drive for us parents, as Connor at least requires a lot of entertainment and attention. Adara is getting better at amusing herself for longer, but she is still a very sociable and talkative girl, and a few hours of quiet make for much more patient parents in the louder hours of the drive. *grin*

I'm in a bit of a whirlwind of packing lists, trying to get all of the laundry done, figuring out what I need to buy to take with us, and all of that. Trev will be arriving for supper Thursday, and we hope to leave early the next morning, so I need to have most everything done before then, as well as having the house in show-worthy shape. Lots to keep me busy!

First Showing

We had the first showing of our house today. Even though the wall downstairs is only mudded, the realtor had one set of clients that really, really wanted to see it, so he let them. I guess they are looking for EXACTLY what we have: a nice house with a rental suite to offset mortgage costs, in a quiet family neighbourhood with a large lot. Our realtor has high hopes, and it doesn't hurt that he'd get the whole commission this way, either. *grin* They know that no one else will be seeing the house until Wednesday, so I wasn't surprised that they didn't make a decision right away, but I'm hoping and praying that they loved the place and make a decent offer tomorrow. This is Fort McMurray after all, and good properties move very quickly. I do have reason to believe they were impressed - they were still there 40 minutes after the showing started, and Trev says the realtor called him on his cell with a couple of specific questions about fireplaces and heaters and such.

So I guess we'll have to see. But the sooner the better, as far as I'm concerned. Trying to get the house in show-worthy condition with two active kids isn't easy, and I'd like to do it as few times as possible. *smile*

Moving On

The house is quieter today. I keep expecting the patter of little paws, a little fuzzy body coming to leap into my lap. It's hard to remember that she's not here anymore - eight years is a long time, and I miss our Bitsy very much. I remind myself regularly that she isn't suffering any more, and that helps, but only somewhat.

We dropped off the carrier, litter box, extra litter, extra food, and the big cat tree at the SPCA today. They were glad to have it, and it comforted us to think it will be of use to some other little cats. We've decided that we won't be getting another cat for a few years at least. Not only is Trevor allergic to cats (while he was able to live with Bitsy, she did aggravate his allergies), we have several people who we hope will come to visit us that are also allergic: Jeannette, Trev's brother's wife, as well as our close friends in Red Deer, one of which is so sensitive to pet dander that he couldn't even stay in our home for an hour while we had Bitsy. While I'll miss having a furry pet, I can't see making people I care for uncomfortable (or even ill) just so that I can have what I want. And if we still want to head overseas for a few years after a stint in Calgary, then it makes sense to avoid getting a new pet for now. *sad sigh*

In other news, the crack in the wall downstairs has been repaired, and new drywall has been put in. The workmen will be stopping in for a few minutes tomorrow and the next day for mudding and sanding, and then they hope to paint on Tuesday. Our realtor is looking forward to showing the house - he has one set of clients that have been looking for exactly what we have, and then 3 other people who have already asked to see the house. I hope this set of showings is faster and easier than the showings we had for the townhouse...we had 24 sets of people come through before it sold. I have a feeling it will go quickly, and I hope I'm right.

Trev and I have done most of the big work around the house now, so I'm working at cleaning up the little nooks and crannies. Reorganizing kitchen cupboards and closets, and getting rid of old stuff or things we simply don't need or use. I love moving because it gives me the motivation to go through everything and simplify...and give things that we don't use to people who will use them.

I've started looking into fall activities for the kids. Adara is very interested in ballet, so I've found a preschool "intro to dance" course that runs just a 5 minute drive from our new home. Their registration is the week after we get possession - God is so good to us, even in the tiny details. And there's a YMCA with a pool about a 10 minute drive away, and they have a "Climb and Splash" program for kids Connor's age (parented), where they play in an indoor gym for a while and then play in the pool for a while. He'll love that. I'm not sure what Mom's plans are in terms of what she wants to get involved with in Calgary, but I'm hoping that she and Adara can make that hour a week their special time together, so we all have fun. We'll have to see. There's also a home school co-op group that meets on Tuesdays, and I'm hoping to go there with the kids too. All of these possibilities are very exciting!

We're examining which churches are nearby, too. It's amazing, just about every church has a website, listing their beliefs, services, sometimes even recorded sermons so you can get a feel for what they're like. There's nothing we feel comfortable with in our little subdivision, but there are a few options that are (I think) only about 15 minutes away. We'll start the serious 'church-shopping' once we get there...a website can only tell you so much, after all.

So much on the go, my brain's in a whirl. I'd best get some sleep!

Torn

I'm fluctuating between being thrilled and grieving tonight - an odd combination, and quite unexpected. I got some very, very good news today: Trev put in an offer on the house he has liked all along, and they have accepted, after some dickering back and forth, for a price we can afford. Providing the home inspection next week shows no major defects, and providing our financing goes through as it should, we will be able to take possession August 13. I'm so happy and relieved that the house-hunting part is done, and that we have a new home to go to soon. That's the thrilled part.

The grieving part...well, Trev and I have concluded that we will have to put our little cat Bitsy to sleep, and we've booked it for this Friday. While there are a number of health issues involved, some of which have been going on a long time, the final straw was that the poor little thing simply hasn't adjusted to having all of her top teeth out, which we had to have done several months ago because they had become too rotten to save. She doesn't like the soft food (we've tried many kinds), only picks at it, and won't eat it at all after it has sat in the bowl for more than 10 minutes. She's making herself sick trying to eat whatever else she can find on the floors. We've tried for months now, but she's getting thinner and more stressed and angrier every day...our passive, easy-going little cat is actually starting to bite and swat us, just for walking by her. Given that a move would be an additional huge stressor for her, we've decided that the kindest and most responsible thing we can do is to end her unhappy little life, much as it hurts us to do so. She's been a part of our family for 8 years now, and it's hard to say goodbye. The kids adore her, too, which makes it that much harder.

So here I sit, going back and forth. And I thank the Lord that I don't need to make any big decisions tonight - who knows what the result would be!

Repairs Update

We're having someone in to fix the basement next Tuesday. Hurray! The first fellow we had in gave us quite a fright, told us he'd have to repair it from the outside (digging up the driveway on the side of our house in the process). While having the folks come by and mark out where the utilities are on the side of the house, we had a second gentleman come by, and he reassured us that he could do all the work from the inside. This guy has a better reputation and seemed much more competent too, so he'll be doing the work for us next week. Trev has to remove the drywall on a big section of one wall this weekend to get it all ready for him.

After much discussion, we decided not to put in an offer on the house Trev liked in Calgary. A few of the features Trev thought were big selling points for me turned out not to be exciting for me at all, and a few of the features I was hoping would be in the house weren't. So Trev is now heading off on Monday with a revised list of criteria, and we'll see what turns up.