Getting ready to move

More in June:

Around March and April I started looking for a place to buy, because my roommate was moving out of the condo I shared with her. Then it turned out that my landlord was willing to sell my condo to me! I closed on it June 12. Later, I decided to move in with my parents for one or two years and rent out that condo to others to pay the mortgage, while getting the support I need with the baby. :) My parents decided to renovate the basement for me to live in. On several occasions, Danielle, Nathan, Ben and I came over to our parents’ house to clear out the garage and basement. We got rid of junk and organized junk and got it ready for renovation. (So many tubes of wrapping paper and tissue paper and why are there so many jars?)

I now own a place! On July 5, my family helped me move half my stuff into a storage unit, and half to their house. Boxes were everywhere. The basement wasn't ready yet, so I was staying in an upstairs bedroom until that was finished. The lower bedroom that used to be mom’s office has been repainted as the baby's room. 

And let me pause for a moment to say that my parents are amazing. I've gently suggested several changes to their home, and Mom's first response was always. "Nope. No thank you. No way." And then she'd cave when she saw the wisdom of the plan. Because she loves me and it was the smartest thing! First, her office was the downstairs bedroom (which used to be our playroom when we were little and then my bedroom in high school). I suggested she could maybe move her office to an upstairs bedroom so that this room could be the baby room. "No," she said. Because the office is her baby. "That would be way too much work."

"Well, maybe we could do that," Dad said.

Mom finally gave a big sigh and gave in. Danielle and I came over one day to clean out her office and help her throw stuff away and suggest that maybe she didn't need QUITE so many Jehovah's Witness literature (to convert them to Christianity when they come to the door). Then I suggested, maybe we could install real carpet in the baby's room instead of the piece of carpet now lying over the old yellow linoleum that originally came with the house 40 years ago. And also, I suggested, maybe we could get the shower working again in the dowstairs bathroom that has always been a storage closet since my parents' moved into this house, so I wouldn't have to share my dad's shower. That one was another firm no - more an overwhelmed sigh at everything that had to get done, and then she surprised me by having it fixed the very weekend I went into labor! (More on the shower later)

Danielle and I came to help paint the baby room one day and it was like the work kept going on and on. Mom had agreed to install carpet, so we ripped up the old carpet that was just laying on top of old yellow linoleum, then we realized we really should get rid of the popcorn ceiling, so we scraped that down. Well, they scraped and I applied water since I was feeling baby more and more! And we never got to painting that day. Then Mom paid her handyman friend to actually paint the room, which was AMAZING so we didn't have to come back and paint. He also ripped up the yellow linoleum. 

I came back one day and painted a big white tree on the wall, which is where we’d add decals of leaves and butterflies that we’d have people cut out at my baby shower.

My family helped be at the condo a few times to paint and clean. I also met with a property manager and decided to use her to relieve the burden on myself. And then I hoped desperately to fill the place.