In Which Things Get Moving!

Connor did very well today-- no seizures, for which we are very thankful! His doctor upped his seizure medication pretty substantially, so he may be pretty sleepy in the next few days as he gets used to the new dose. We're hoping the medication change will nip the problem in the bud. No more seizures, please!

One lingering problem, though-- I was so frazzled last night when I got home that I put my cell phone down somewhere and now I can't find it. I know it's in the back half of the apartment because we only have cell reception in the front half closest to the windows, and when I call it the phone goes straight through to voicemail and doesn't ring at all. So if you've called me today, sorry. I'll get your message whenever the heck I find my phone again. In the meantime I'll be using Jer's cell phone, which since he needs it means he'll be going everywhere with me. I'm sure he's thrilled.

After dropping Connor off at school today, Jer and I headed over to the new house, where I spent my time sorting out the last of the junk. Jer hung out in the garage, as we didn't want to try and get him into the house by ourselves again. Today's finds include:

-A box full of motivational tapes, none of which were opened.

-An old warped ax head.

-An ash tray, new packet of cigarettes, and matches hidden behind some cardboard boxes on a top shelf.

-A hand painted sign that says "No Smoking."

-Three identical black galoshes.

-An anchor. Yes, really.

I am extremely happy to say that I'm now finished with my initial sorting of the trash. Woo hoo! I'm left with a few items we'll be keeping (a large wheelbarrow, edger, and three ladders, among other things), a big pile of items to be donated, an enormous pile of trash, and over 100 different hazardous materials, including paint, varnish, oil, gasoline, bleach, stripper, car batteries, poisons, antifreeze, windshield cleaner, lighter fluid, and many, many others. The photo on here is from yesterday, and the pile has grown substantially since then. Luckily Puyallup has a landfill with free disposal of these materials, though they have a limit of 35 items at a time so it'll take me a few trips to get everything over there. They also don't take latex or water-based paint though, so I'll be sorting through the 58 cans of paint in there, and then we'll have to figure out what to do with the rest of it.

Once I'm finished with that, it'll be time to tackle the yard! It's got good bones, but it's been neglected for quite some time so it's going to take me a while to whip it back in shape. I'm excited to get started on it!

After I picked Connor up from school we had a meeting with Becky and Bill from the remodeling company, and some of the subcontractors at the new house to walk through and talk about what the game plan will be. Jer and I were expecting maybe three or four other people, but truck after truck pulled up and folks kept piling in! I'm not sure what the final count was, but there were at least fourteen people there-- all with different areas of expertise-- who looked through the house and are volunteering or discounting time, services or materials. Amazing! They were very organized and efficient; everybody looked at the area that they would be tackling, took measurements, introduced themselves, asked a question or two and then headed out. They aren't going to wait until Saturday to get started; the kitchen demolition begins tomorrow morning! I can't believe how fast this is moving. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that this is happening; that in two months we're going to have a house that isn't just livable for Jer and Connor, but a welcoming, beautiful space for the three of us.

As you probably remember, Jer lost his wedding ring in Afghanistan, and we're choosing to take the opportunity of getting new rings to renew our wedding vows. We've figured out what we want for our new rings, but we were still debating on the best way to renew our vows. Well, now we've decided. When the house is finished and we're moved in, we're going to throw open the doors and have a huge party. You're all invited-- everyone who's been a support, a listening ear, a helping hand, or a good friend over the past few months. We haven't worked out logistics yet, though we do know that we don't want to post the address of the house on the Internet, but we'll get it figured out one way or another. We'll renew our vows in our new house surrounded by all of the people who made it possible for us to be there.

What could be better?

~Jess