Hiatus

I disappeared because I'm  moving. And it's hot; so very, very hot.

I lay in bed awake one night, about 10 days ago. I was running down my mental list of things to do, which included drive Bela across the Midwest to summer camp, pack all our earthly belongings, deal with the movers, take care of all manner of tedium associated with moving from one address to another, and do it all with an infant, two little kids, and an absent, equally hardworking husband.

I called my mommy.

She came.

We drove Bela to the heart of the largest Amish community in the country to drop her off for her 5 glorious days living on a (non-amish) farm. This trip included a sleepless night at a hotel, a couple of mother daughter fights (between me and Bela, me and Mom), and a few screaming episodes from Gill in the car.

And then we drove home and we packed. And we met the movers the next morning. We were not ready.

There are two truths that become perfectly clear when I move:
     One: I accumulate too much "stuff"
     Two: My house is filthy.

Did I mention it's hot? And that I am mentally wasting away to nothing?

It's a licorice for breakfast, can of olives for lunch, hairy armpits, tragic hygiene sort of a week for me. I have one and a half more days to clear the crap out of my old apartment and no husband, no babysitter, no shower in my near future.

And then it's off to Arkansas for a week with family. Will someone please, PLEASE let me take a nap?

Presenting: Our living room! Looks great, eh? Hmmm. Freshly painted, though. Floors are papered because we had them refinished the day before.

Gillian finally gets a room. New floors peeking out there in the closet. Walls need painting. The photo and the sunlight would lead you to believe this room was a fresh white. It's actually dingy, and gross.

View through dining room into sun room. Papered floors. Although difficult to tell, there is grey wallpaper all over this room that I have started tearing off. 

Because I can't leave well enough alone: the kitchen. I ripped out the floors, had a friend pull out the cabinets and put up some drywall...awaiting freshly repainted cabinets.....Bright green?

Tired crew. Bare mattresses on floor, filled with kids and tired mommy. I think Mae took this at about 5:30 this morning. Need curtains to block out that darn sunshine.

This is Mae right now. She fell asleep an hour ago waiting for me to read that book to her. This is the basement, where we have an in-law apartment which we're camping out in while my friend updates the electrical system in the home. Plus, there's a kitchen down here, and I tore out the other one, so there's that. We are all exhausted.