Dee You Double En

That spells DONE. I am so done. Done with the flux we've been in for such a long time, done with feeling powerless against the moodiness characteristic of my pregnancies, done with physical discomfort.

The house projects continue...we had to have some drain tile installed to address the surprise water issue discovered before closing. I didn't really realize what it would entail, and following the final massive clean of the house in advance of our party last weekend, the basement is a mess of torn up landings, cement dust and furniture I'm incapable of returning to its rightful place.

I have become unfortunately familiar with the ins and outs of regular pest control services, and today got a full run down of all the previous/established/OHMYGOD mouse activity around the place. Eradication of the disgusting creatures and all the other creepy crawlies is underway, but just another fun surprise that comes along with purchasing a new house.

My kids and I are locked into what feels like neverending cycles of awesome/terrible behaviors. I'm conscious of trying to enjoy what time we have left before the next big change but I keep planning and trying to execute things I don't really have the energy for. I get crabby and snap about small infractions and they respond in kind by committing bigger ones. My patience is at an all time low and I can only hope that they don't remember what a colossal CRAB their mother was during this time. In some ways I love that Hedgehog's arrival comes in the middle of the summer, in other ways I'm just sad that by the time I feel vaguely like myself again it'll be time for school to start. Oh well, I suppose there's always next summer.

We did have a very successful party (final RSVP count was around 70...we had a few no-shows but suffice it to say there was a LOT of traffic through here). I'm really glad we did it and it was a great opportunity to connect with friends and meet neighbors before we go underground for a bit. But good lord was it tiring. I think I took three naps the following day and didn't do much in a vertical position at all.

The 4th of July was just ok this year, but with the party two days later we hadn't planned anything massive. It was fun to hit the local small-town celebration and see the kids' parade (which turned out to be...a parade of local kids. Heh)

Today I had my second-to-last OB visit and all is still well. Hedgehog is big enough and active enough it's actually painful at this point. I won't be surprised if he's a good sized little beast. A friend and I took all the kids swimming this afternoon at a combination sandy beach/chlorinated pool in a regional park near our new house. It's a great place but again, probably more than I should have attempted at this point.

And now, I need to go love on my kids before I throw them in their beds and hope that that's what they remember in the morning. Perhaps some pictures tomorrow if I can summon up the energy to download them (you know, amongst resting periods on my fainting couch)