Saturday, January 20, 2007

Spring Cleaning

We're moving into overdrive to try to get the house ready to put on the market in April.  All the million and one little projects left undone over the past four years are now being revisited:  a new faucet for the clawfoot; finishing work on the built-in bookshelves; getting the wood floors refinished.  I've packed away boxes and boxes of photos and knick-knacks and extras and extras and extras.  We'll get a storage unit next month to put all of our "extra" stuff in.  Here's what the living room used to look like, furniture in every corner, this horrid, geometric-patterned rug that I keep begging Eric to let me get rid of:



So, although we seem to maintain a puzzling level of clutter around the house (kids, dogs, cats, and all their necessary stuff), things are definitely looking thinned out and, well, finished.  And I really, really like it.


I know I'll be happy to see all our stuff when we move, that I'll unwrap yet another duvet cover or set of coffee mugs and say, "Hey!  I love these!  Glad to see you, old friends!"  But for now I'm equally pleased to pack it all away, to live a simpler life for a while.  The house looks pretty darn zen, with the exception of our basement, which looks like a tornado hit Kmart and deposited all of its detritus there. 


It's also exciting to see things a little more polished--I can't wait to see the floors free of paint splatters and splinters, to see the railing on the Juliet balcony completed, to see all the nail-holes filled.


It's strange, of course, to know that we're doing all of this for someone else--whoever owns our house next.  I know there's an outside chance we won't sell, and then I guess we'll get to enjoy all of this for another year.  But chances are, someone will buy this place at some point, and we'll move on to a new house (and new house projects).  So I'm looking around at this old house, which has no right angles and uneven plaster, and missing it a little, already.  Our first house.


 


Nolie Sleep Quest 2007 


Are you wondering how things are going with Nolie?  Well, we have mixed results.  She's went down unswaddled fine last night.  She woke up twice, but put herself back to sleep both times.  Then, she woke up at 11:30 inconsolable, and I gave in and swaddled and nursed her back down.  Same thing at 4am.  But then she woke two more times before 8am, and put herself back to sleep both times.  I view this as an awkward sort of progress.


Both naps today, she went down unswaddled, no problem.  She's really starting to bond with her Gigi blanky, and is falling asleep in my arms without too much problem (before, she'd only go down for Eric, who nearly had to suffocate her to get her asleep).


Baby steps, in other words.  But this feels much better than just throwing her in her crib and letting her howl it out.  That just wasn't working for any of us.  I'm still getting up at night, but feel like there's forward progress, however incremental.



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