girl at large

Mutually Exclusive

  

I was called a Hipster today. I also recieved my Shorewood property tax bill today.

Perhaps the new Milwaukee Hipster wears long johns, has a house that always smells faintly of pee, and is thrilled to get a new iron for Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Following family tradition, Viv has developed a cold and fever on Christmas Eve. Nothing serious, just enough to dampen her spirits a bit. On second thought, maybe a fever-mellowed toddler is a Christmas blessing!

 

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Christmas for Beginners

Viv doesn't "get" Christmas yet, but she does understand that something is in the air. She says the lights are pretty, wants to open pressies, and has stated cookie preferences.

Just like her Papa.

Errand Boy

I just sent my hubby to the store for beer and Redi-whip.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Quotable

Viv : "I'm unhappy."

Me: "Why are you unhappy?"

Viv: "I want chocolate milk."

Paulie, pouring: "Is it supposed to be lumpy?"

Uh oh.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Not Exactly Clear on the Concept

Kate: "I have an idea, let's get away for a weekend to a nice hotel just the two of us. We don't have to go far, just a nice hotel so we can have a little relaxation alone together".

Paul: "That's a great idea , it would be so nice to just sit and watch some tv".

 

Posted with Blogsy

Happy Birthday CiCi

So much for Viv's special birthday dress...she left for daycare all dolled up and returned as the true ragamuffin she is. She's two!

I do most of my parenting, feel most like a "mom" in the early morning hours before she is awake. Packing her lunch, making her bottles, laying out her outfits with matching socks is how I start the day.

Hazy mornings in a quiet house with coffee cup and formula can. Doing my quick-step, coordinated feed-the-dog-put-the-dishes-away-write-a-note-to-daycare-pack-my-work bag-empty-the-garbage dance in the cramped kitchen...that will be what I remember. She can't see me doing it, doesn't know the thought put into little containers of fresh veg and homemade pasta, has no idea how important the daycare bag pacifier double check is. She's sound asleep, all curly-headed, sweaty, puffy-cheeked baby in her toddler bed.

It's the best time of day.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Game Face

Paulie: "You know that there are at least a dozen full grown women in Wisconsin wearing that exact same outfit today. In the same size!"

Parenting vs Dating: Things Change

Today's thoughtful text from loving husband:
"Got the smell out"

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Viv rearranged the furniture in the pediatrician's waiting room last week. I wonder where she picked that up! She is mimicking mama and papa and playing pretend more elaborately every day.

This morning, I heard her grunting and struggling in the corner of the bedroom.

"What are you doing honey?" I asked.

"Putting my tights on too!" came the chipper reply.

Cute Wins Every Time

She's "reading" a book on toddler discipline that she took from Papa's not-to-be-touched table, while wearing his reading glasses that she loudly proclaims are "mine! mine! mine!". She also has a "pooooooop in my di-ya-per".

But never mind all that, look at her!

Display

Someone forgot to tell me our block is a flag block. Augie, our 80-something neighbor, was putting out a large porch flag at 6 this morning. By the time I finished my coffee, two rows of matching little yard flags had marched down his front walk.

We are woefully unprepared. Do gas line flags count?

 

Posted with Blogsy

Bonding with Uncle Mike

Zio Mike and Zia Kelly are in town for Lisa and Phil's wedding this weekend. The three day Festa Italiania started last night with pasta and pillow forts!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Greens

It's potato salad season....tonight's with fresh chives and Italian parsley from our first Highcross Farm CSA box full of fresh grown goodies. Now, what to do with this giant mystery thing growing on the side of the house? I think it's a rhubarb out of control.

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Small Victories

Working in order of smallest to largest, we have now completed exactly two rooms of the house: the closet in the guest room and the back entry hall. Wait, the light fixture isn't up yet in the hall, so scratch that. One room, we have completed exactly one room. We moved in a year ago this Easter weekend.

I'm learning to be happy with small steps. And speaking of baby steps, Viv learned to walk and talk and run and we kept her fed and alive in that same year...so we have accomplished something big!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Another Big Improvement

I can't wait to see the new carpet go in! I pulled the trigger on the middle color. The stripes are fabulous and the camel color makes the woodwork look great. It doesn't do much for the dirty yellow walls and mauve trim though!

I'm having it installed in the upstairs hallway, down the stairs to the first floor, through the back door landings and all the way down the basement stairs. It will be a cozy (and clean!) walk from the bathroom to the laundry room when we're out of clean towels on a winter morning.

 

Posted with Blogsy

My Life In Poop Management

Ever wonder what would happen if you ate those absorbing crystals they put in diapers?

Well, Ruby and I know now!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Asking For It

Just when I make headway, I add to my own burden. The plaster work is done, the garage doors are on order...I'm feeling and seeing positive progress on the huge project that is Kenmore Place. But that feeling may not last for long. I had delivery yesterday of all the items I've been stashing in the racks at work---bookcases, storage cabinets and most importantly the kitchen cabinets.

So, now I have to tackle unpacking 30 boxes of books in the basement, organizing piles of scattered tools and supplies, and somehow getting the energy and funds together to start the new kitchen. If only it was as easy as installing the cabinets now hogging what was Viv's play room. We have to run electrical to counter height, add 220 for the stove, reroute the gas line, remove and cap off a radiator, demo a closet, frame in and drywall two doorways, run all new plumbing for hot, cold and a drain, and knock down a wall! Oh, and we need a stove hood and vent, dishwasher, light fixtures, countertops, a sink and faucet....meanwhile, the perfect pedestal sink for the upstairs bathroom has been located on craigslist and must be fetched this weekend...

And to think I do this to myself. I am nuts.

 

Posted with Blogsy

If You're 40 and You Know It

The things that excite me these days are so mundane. I can't remember the last time I went dancing or blew half my paycheck on new shoes. These days I dream (literally dream) of plaster repairs, stair treads and garage doors.

This week, two of my dreams come true!

The crumbling plaster, the result of my over eager demolition of hideous wall tile and brick veneer, is being expertly repaired. The vent soffit has been removed in the old kitchen and the walls re-plastered. Two more days and it will all be done (and clean and safe!). This afternoon I ordered the 2 new garage doors. The 90 year old barn doors, battered and broken, are very difficult to deal with in the cold and snow. In this case, "original" isn't desirable.

Next, the bathrooms. It will be a banner day in Kenmore Place when I can both brush my teeth and shower in the same bathroom!

 

Posted with Blogsy

The Game Us On!

I've been giving Paulie a hard time about last years Laminated Wall Map Christmas present, and of course ramped up the teasing in the last few weeks as the holiday approaches again.

This morning I see 7 more packages set out for me! That's a total of nine now. Wrapped! In two kinds of paper! Yes, and an envelope that says "To my beautiful wife"!

I am screwed.

Little Victories

I may have to replace the window hardware afterall, they seem too far gone. But the cabinet hardware is SOLID brass and shined up beautifully!

Thank goodness something shined up today; the list of tasks in this house is overwhelming. I'm struggling to be satisfied with little baby steps like this. Speaking of baby steps, Viv's now using these handles to pull herself up!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Snoozing

Ten months in, and we are still seeking sleep. Paulie stayed home to take care of Ci Ci when the daycare was closed yesterday. One big benefit of that is a nice long sleep in. He returned the favor for me this morning.

Apparently Ci Ci ("chee chee", in the correct Sicillian spelling) isn't napping at daycare---too much excitement, she wants to be playing all day. So she zonks out on the weekends like a hungover college kid. And we happily join her.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Before & After Paint

Before and After shots of the interior painting in the Tin Can Cottage. What a difference! It's so much cleaner and brighter. We may have to Kilz and recoat in the dinette area--the smoking decades took their toll--but we are almost done.

Now if only redoing the plumbing were as easy.

Feeling at Home

We walked to the coffee shop this morning, sat outside and watched the neighbors go by in the sunshine. Then we walked to Atwater beach, pushing the stroller all the way down the new slopping walk way to the water. It was a shame that the water quality level was "Red" (e-coli levels too high); Nevaeh really wanted to dip her toes in the waves. After some testing of the new beach-level playground equipment, we made our way back up the cliff and down the street to City Market for lunch. Nevaeh loves City Market. Of all the things we do together, that is her most frequent request. Then, we had an easy stroll past Viv's future grade school back to the house. I love our walking neighborhood--it's the reason I moved to this particular area when I came to Milwaukee four years ago. I can't believe I own a house here now. Still coming to terms with the bungalow style, but I'm warming up to it, especially the front sunroom.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Jun 15, 2013

Fathers Day part 1 going great! I surprised him with a drop off at the cousins for drinks with his boys and friends --without wife and baby. Stay out late Paulie! Live a little! And let me enjoy the whole bed to myself a little longer.

Part 2 tomorrow---sex and pancakes and auto cross. Not necessarily in that order.

Jun 9, 2013

Despite the dangling amusements at her disposal, the soft cushion beneath her and the simplicity of the task, the existential angst she felt during tummy time was inescapable.

Finishing up the Fluff and Fold

The laundry room is coming together at last! Both machines are working. They hum like an old Chevy; so solid and smooth. I LOVE these machines. When we took the previous "new" washer out to the garage (on it's way to a new craigslist owner), I was reassured that my choice of 30 year old machines was a good one. The 3-year old new set was tin-y, plastic-y and cheap. These, by comparison, are built like tanks. So appropriate for this little brick house.

I painted the block walls today. Yes, I already owned a gallon of the spot-on oatmeal color to compliment the Maytags. Then I added the grey rug previously in the Wildwood nursery, a hanging rod and a classic chair to hold the laundry basket. Just need the permanent dryer vent hose connected and it's all set. There are plans to put up "walls" of pegboard in the dark, creepy corner to the side of the dryer, and to paint the entire basement floor, but those projects will wait for now.

Now, I have another (and another and another) load of laundry to do!

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Sun's Out, Roll Your Sleeves Up!

In true midwestern style, the neighborhood kids were in shirts and flip flops during this early warm spring weekend. We couldn't stand to spend another day working in the basement on a sunny day, so we tackled the yard.

I dug up enough rocks and gravel to fill the freshly repainted flower boxes. Moms old wrought iron planter looks amazing after a coat of Rustoleum. Paul restacked the retaining wall blocks so they were less "boob like" in their shape. The fussy-looking, non-functioning gas light post fixture was yanked out, as well as the stake lights. Yes, we already owned a lawn edger before moving in. How is it we (or maybe just I) doubted that home ownership was for us?

For a tiny little front yard (we don't have any back yard at all), it was a lot of work! Paul isn't keen on my suggestion to make the flower bed a rock garden, so we have more work yet to do.

Generations

 

Great-Grandma Mickey said she's going to live to be 104 so she can see Viv grow up. I'm now more concerned about being a first-time mom at forty than ever---Viv, have kids young so I get to be a Grandma too!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Look Familiar?

Paul made the trek up to Door County yesterday to start the process of getting the trailer ready for the season. We had thought that the Tin Can Cottage would be our big renovation project for the year! Turns out, it may be our refuge from renovation chaos instead. Once we get some work done on it.

The cork-patterned vinyl tile is going to look fantastic. Just getting rid of the old, grey, filthy floor will make the entire trailer feel clean and fresh. As will finishing the coat of paint we had to stop when I got too pregnant, too hot, and too bitchy to continue last summer. I must have been really bitchy when we left it in August because Paul said it looked like we had just stepped away--things were left out, like swimming suits hanging to dry. Being up north in an empty campsite with snow on the ground in April isn't creepy enough.

This time for the floor, we are going to watch youtube videos before installing. There is such a thing as too much glue!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Apr 14, 2013

Despite good intentions of a fresh start, yesterday was crap too!

We can't drop a 220 line for the dryer without putting in a sub panel so we need to get a gas dryer instead. Paul put up the clothesline directly across the walkway at the basement stairs. Running downstairs for a tool or another roll of paper towels? Smack, wet burp rag in the face. Oh, wait, that happens to me all the time anyway.

Paul believes in temporary fixes and jerry-rigging. I live by "do it once"; spending three times as much time planning before doing. This is not looking good for our relationship .

At least we both can agree that salvage yard excursions make great restorative breaks.

Domestic Struggle

Me: "You aren't listening to me!"

Paulie: "There's so much to listen to!"

Thank goodness we can laugh at each other. Moving has been stressful, buying has been stressful, and now we have a mountain of renovation work to do. Time to resurrect our division of labor technique. I'm the Design Department, Paulie is Structural Engineer. I'm Project Manager, Paulie is Operations. We are both Labor.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Boxes and Baskets

A few tips for that week between when you packed up all your belongings and the day you actually move:

Un-used diapers make handy pot holders. Coffee can be filtered with paper towel. One lightbulb can be moved from fixture to fixture.

If the pizzas are ordered from a different place each time, that means you did not "just order pizza" three times in one week.

Beer is just as important a packing staple as tape.

There is no good, space-saving way to pack lamp shades, curtain rods or pillows.

Somewhere in this house is the bottle of asperin. Just not in this box, not in that box, not those boxes I opened over there...

A rough day can be made better by sneaking a Peep from the baby's Easter basket!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Home Is Where The Hammer Is

I'm sitting in a folding camp chair in my empty dining room.

Eight years ago, I was doing the same thing. In Portland, in a tiny one bedroom apartment that had once been a Stumptown brothel. Now, it's MY dining room. As in MY mortgage. And it's in Milwaukee. Ok, Shorewood if you want to be a stickler.

I walked to get a cup of coffee this morning---out my front door and down just one sunny block to the coffee shop. I love this neighborhood. Like all my favorites before (Monroe St Madison, Historic Savannah, NorthWest Portland), it's lively without being loud, warm and walkable. The gourmet grocery, coffee shop, and pharmacy are all within a comfortable strolling distance.

It's a great house. Not the house I was looking for, or the house I dreamt of, it wasn't even on my radar. It's not the modern glass box I've always wanted, it's not even the retro ranch that would have been fun to make mine. It's everything I said I didn't want---"traditional", a detached garage, two stories, no space for a studio/shop, and so on. I had looked at so many houses that were perfect on paper (sound familiar?) but fell flat in person. Many were foreclosure nightmares---frozen pipes, bombed out kitchens, water damaged walls. Others weren't architecturally interesting enough to overcome location problems like train tracks in the back yard or suburban isolation.

But Kenmore Place has the things I didn't realize were so important until I walked in (and said to myself--"Finally, a real house!")---warmth and quality. That's Quality with a capital Q. The original construction is solid, and so immediately apparent. The woodwork, the windows, the dry solid basement walls, the coved ceilings. What's the point of renovating things that weren't good construction to begin with? That's not renovation, that's replacement. This little tank of a house will be a joy to bring back to life.

Which brings me to the next topic...all the work to be done! Stay tuned for many renovation updates as we dig into the giant project that will no doubt occupy our next decade.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

Baby Two Point Oh!

Little "Chee Chee", as everyone (except myself) calls her, is five months old now. Though she's been doing it for two weeks, I still am shocked every time I see her sitting up. It's a different baby there, surrounded by pillows, looking at me horizontally. Sitting up, she looks even more like Paulie. I think it's the way the light catches those ears.

I gave her a little liquified banana this weekend. She let it rest in her mouth, then pushed it out with all the usual drool. Her first taste of food was very exciting for her Papa---I think he envisions her merrily chowing down on lasagna next week. I don't want to disappoint him with the truth of the very long series of baby steps until that point. And the diapers! Oh, the solid food diapers!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Count Down

Less than a week now until we close on Kenmore Place. Every piece of paper has been signed, every document copied, all our accounts verified. The numbers are frightening---does anyone really look at the final number they will pay for a house after 30 years? Even at 3.875%? And that doesn't even touch the cost of insurance, taxes, maintainance, repairs and emergency funds. Add renovations to that and the idea that a house is an "investment" is nuts.

It is, I will accept, an "investment" in lifestyle. In community, in family, in comfort. And in activity--Paulie and I listed 10 years of projects in just ten minutes of "what if we did..." discussion. We will never again be without something to do on nights and weekends.

 

Posted with Blogsy

Home Sweet...Holy Crap We Have A Lot To Do

 

Three weeks to go until we close on the house on Kenmore Place. We went through for the third time today, to take key measurements and see for ourselves with clear minds what we have committed ourselves to. It needs work. Lots of work. Lots more work than I recalled. After inspecting crawl spaces in need of insulation, opening non-motorized barn door garage doors, counting more than 30 painted-over light switches and outlets, seeing at least 7 different trim treatments (dark finish, light finish, no finish, grey paint, mauve paint, white glossy paint, white flat paint), eyeing a dozen light fixtures in need of changing and more...I'm already tired. But my beloved, bless his heart, is already drawing up the plans on his computer as I write.

You know what we need? We need to buy a boat. An old, waterlogged boat that we can fix up. And we should get another dog. Or two! Because we need more to do. Ah, being project people. Vinnie, you'll be swinging a hammer before you walk my darling. And come to think of it, you may learn to walk gingerly...there's carpet to tear out, mind the tacks!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Secret Ingredient

Man, one head of cabbage makes a lot of slaw! Paul will have cole slaw in his lunch for at least a week. Just don't tell him it is boob cabbage.

Posted with Blogsy

Home Sweet ...What Did You Say?

The call came in. The counter offer is a good one, well within our budget. Paul asks me, "What do you think? Do you want it?"

I reply, with what I think is a romantic meaningful look, happy tears in my eyes: "It's not what I thought I wanted, but then again, neither were you."

I have no idea why he stays with me. But now I know we'll be staying in a house we own together!

 

Posted with Blogsy

This Is Family Life

Transcript of the conversation in the bedroom this morning:

Is that my night bra? I've been looking for this!

Night bra? Crazy woman and your night bra.

You just imagine, if you had to nurse you'd want a night bra too. I've handled this breastfeeding bullshit pretty well!

*hack hack hack*

Ruby, are you still barfing up that pizza box?

 

Posted with Blogsy

New Year, New House?

Why do people more frequently say a house is too small?
I have yet to be advised that a house is too big, even when it's a 2300 sq ft beast ( not counting basement and garage). That is twice what we need---twice the renovation cost, twice the heating and cooling, twice the maintenance, twice the work.

It's just us three, Vivienne will not suffer for having been raised in a modest house with only one bathroom. Yes, two would be more convenient. But it's not the end of the world. And we can always add one.

I'm not going to commit to buying a house in an area I find boring as hell just because it comes with an extra crapper.

The garage, however, is a different story. According to Paulie, and I am beginning to see his point, you can never have a too large garage.

Searching

House hunting in winter sucks. Our budget means a fixer upper, which we love, but come on! It has to be at least mostly structurally sound. Milwaukee has some ugly, ugly housing stock right now.

According to the listings, the highlight of the Wisconsin home apparently is the basement bar.

I am determined not to buy a house by the pound-- bigger is not always better, especially when it comes to Midwestern heating bills and renovations. I'd rather have a little gem that I can afford to fix up now with the best materials rather than in ten years and too cheaply. I miss the days of being able to vacuum my whole apartment without ever changing outlets. I don't want to own and maintain rooms we never use.

But every house we have seen, regardless of size, has been a trashed mess. Do people really live like this? Is this really all you get for your money?

My dreams of something "cool" with "potential" are fading. At this point, I'd settle for "not gross".

Take the Second Exit for Santa's Workshop

Baby Vivienne can't appreciate it yet, but her mom loves the crap out of Christmas. I can't wait until she understands leaving her shoes out for St. Nick, leaving cookies for Santa Claus and leaving mom and dad asleep on Christmas morning.

I love cookies, Yule logs, putting another log on the fire, singing carols and Carole King, wrapping presents, picking just the perfect present and judging someones esteem of me by their present.

Yes, I said it.

It's not pretty, it's not Christian (which I also am not), but it's true. When your significant other gives you a laminated wall map, and only a laminate wall map, the thought will float in your mind as your heart sinks in your belly that perhaps your beloved thinks less of you, thinks that you were not nice this year, thinks you are ....a delivery driver.

Not Guilty

I returned to work, only part-time for the month of December, yesterday.

Everyone, and by everyone I mean everyone, including my dental hygienist, has asked "How are you?", "Are you ok?", "How are you handling it?". Imagine the accompanying head tilt and sympathetic expression.

I have not entered my child into a gulag. I have delivered her to a facility that is designed and dedicated to the care of children, with the backing of the state, county, city and the respected YMCA organization. It is regulated, licensed and inspected. There are FOUR ladies committed to her care in a lovely, toy and baby equipment-filled room with only a few other infants. They each have degrees in child development, training in infant CPR, certificates galore and ongoing education requirements.

I have a GED and a functioning uterus. I should have dropped the kid off weeks ago!

They Like What They Like

Sleepy baby. Sleeping on the diaper changing pad. A fancy automatic swinging bassinet, a co-sleeper bed, a folding travel baby bed, a nordic designer-y bouncy chair and a pack 'n play all available to her and what's her favorite? The five dollar foam changing pad.

Losing It

There have been some nights when I thought I'd lose it as the Baby screamed for hour three...but we've gotten through that phase and learned how to calm her.
What I do seem to be losing is my memory.

Me, wandering around perplexed: "Somewhere in this house is a bag of breast milk".

Paul: "I thought you had two"!

Snoozing

Paulie took a few candid shots of his sleeping family this morning. Ruby was actually awake, on baby-watching duty. I was sound asleep...for 6 hours straight! Little Miss Viv is giving us a solid 5 to 6 hours each night for a few nights in a row now. Keeping my fingers crossed that she keeps it up!

Our Little Package

How can such a wee little baby need such a big vehicle?

Oh, right...it's all the supplies that need the extra space!

(We had the new station wagon for less than 12 hours before Mom insisted on a trip to Target as our first outing).

Dear Darling Daughter,

Dear Darling Daughter,

Thank you. You have given me the greatest gift a mother could ask for. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. No other achievement, no award nor perfect grades could compare. I will be forever proud of you, and eternally grateful to you for...

sleeping through the night!

Love,
Your grateful Mom

Parents Say The Darnedest Things

There have been some memorable moments over the past none months:

"You got pregnant so quickly, its like I got you pregnant from across the room, KAPOW!!" -guess who

"I never thought it would happen for you!". -Paul's mom when we told her the big news

Paul, holding up a onesie in my direction: "Fill it!"

"Guess what honey, you get to pork me one last time!" -Kate, reading the baby book chapter on ways to get labor started.

"Where does the umbilical cord go, back in?"-Paul (I will forever imagine a self-retracting vacuum cleaner cord).

"I gotta go, I'm heading to Target for an emergency bigger pantie run" -Kate

"Will your mucus plug come out if you take Mucinex? Mucus is mucus, right?" -Paul

"Was it vigorous? It's got to be vigorous!" - Mom, explaining how sex can help get labor started.

"My part is done, the rest is your job!" -Dad, on completing the cradle.

"I think I can make it that long!" - Grandma Mickey every week when I tell her how much longer til the due date