Closing Time

Yesterday we closed on our new house! The house is in the city of Litchfield Park, which is about 15 minutes northwest of where we live now. We decided to take advantage of the crazy housing market here in Arizona to buy a bigger house in a better neighborhood with better schools (for much less than we paid for our current house!) We're going to keep our current house as an investment property and rent it out.

Since the house is a foreclosure, there is still a bunch of cosmetic work to do to get the house ready. We'll spend the next week cleaning, painting (OK, the painter will do the painting), cleaning again, repairing a few things, putting new carpet in, and then cleaning one last time (it's pretty dirty right now). Once we're in, Jay will try to wrangle the yard. I'll post some before & after pictures later--once we've survived the moving madness.

Things That Must Go

A morning radio show I listened to back in the day used to do a segment called "Things that must go." Listeners would call in with things they thought the world would be better without. Over the last week, I've noticed some things that should definitely go, so here's my list:

1. Cockroaches

We're buying a new house (well, new to us--I'll post more about it later) that has been vacant for several months. There is an unholy number of dead cockroaches in our new house. Ick. In my opinion, one is too many. We have a pest control company coming to spray the house inside and out next week, and we're going to do some heavy-duty cleaning before we move in. But still, what useful purpose could they possibly serve?

2. People who pick their nose while driving

Seriously? You know that window is made of clear glass, and yet you forget I can still see you? Especially when I'm pulled up exactly even with you at the stoplight? I wish I could just think this was funny, but it really grosses me out.

3. Incessant whining

I love my sweet Hayden, but for the last week or so, he has been testing my patience. I think I made the mistake of giving in to whining a few too many times, so Hayden has learned that it works. And now he's trying it out all the time. I'm getting better at ignoring it and encouraging him to "use his words" to tell me what he wants, but I really hope this phase passes quickly.

4. Allergies

It's been pretty windy here in Phoenix, and it's like someone turned my allergies switch from "off" to "on full blast." I can take Claritin while pregnant, but unfortunately, it hasn't done anything to relieve my allergies (even though it used to work perfectly). I just want to breathe again!

What would you add to the list?

You know you're the parent of a little boy when...

You find rocks at the bottom of the washing machine after washing a load of your son's clothes. Hayden has recently discovered his pockets, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that he has started putting his "treasures" in his pockets. I'm going to have to start checking his pockets now when I do the wash, just like I check Daddy's.

He thinks he can wear Daddy's shirts.

He has to wear sunglasses, just like Daddy, when they go on bike rides together. This biking stuff is serious business!