We have been overwhelmed with house stuff already—between the mortgage and commitment letter and inspection and lawyers’ letters, etc., everything is a lot of hurry up and wait. The house is a short sale, as I may have mentioned. (Obama is about to offer incentives to short sale sellers—I guess this will help our case with the banks, though I’d like incentives for the buyers, too!) It’s a complicating factor for sure.
The inspection was Sunday (Uncle Greg’s birthday—happy birthday!), and it couldn’t have happened without the babysitting help of Dan and Kim, who took Tashi for the morning. Rio stayed with us at the house. Here are some screenshots I took from earlier video we took of the house. It needs a lot of cosmetic work, and the inspection did find a couple of issues that aren’t insurmountable but which we are hoping the sellers take care of. But as a short sale, I don’t know that they will. As Tish said, buying a house just makes you want to hand over your checkbook and close your eyes till it’s all over. It’s an old house, a center hall colonial I think from the 1920s, and with the charm comes myriad old-house issues. But it was proven to me seeing it again that this location makes it all worth it. It’s an astoundingly great location—and that’s what you pay for in real estate, right?
The quality of these shots is terrible, hence the small size, but here’s Tashi through the French door that leads to a patio off the living room and that I might someday want to screen or wall in.
Here’s where we usually put Rio during house visits. Near the entrance somewhere and out of the way.
Here is husband carrying Tashi up the stairs to the finished attic. The whole house is painted in bright, day-glo colors—not just the kids’ rooms!
In other news, on Friday I had to go on (cable) TV to promote the cookbook. I knew I’d be nervous, but it didn’t help that the PR person kept telling me to relax and that’d I’d be fine—that made me more nervous. After an initial flub I got through it somehow. I can’t bring self to actually watch the clip so I don’t know if the shoutout to Popo in the vitamin D section made it in! (Wearing 5 lbs of makeup on Good Morning America Health.)
I had babysitting luck because Julie, Oliver’s mom, was able to step in and watch Rio Friday morning while I subjected myself to the bright lights. It’s a strange thing going from days virtually solo or 95 percent exclusively in the company of children to a TV studio in Times Square. It took me all afternoon to recover.
It’s already hard to remember a time when Tashi wasn’t a total chatterbox. She still says Ps for Ts and vice versa (Thomas is Pomas eg) but we’ve been enjoying her singing. I’m not quite able to get it on video as well as Katherine is with Sofia but it’s a hoot all the same—especially when she demands you sing along. I haven’t followed up on the toddler bed: She slept in it the first night and the next nap, but woke up discombobulated. So the next two times—night and nap—she requested the crib. But then the third evening, she wanted the bed again, and we haven’t looked back. I’ve been putting Rio down for naps in the crib in Tashi’s room, which is mildly successful, and telling Tashi that Rio will be sleeping in the crib together with her in the room. No protests. We’ll see!
Rio for his part continues to be obsessed with sucking his hands and lately has been trying to suck on blankets too (alarming when he is napping). Soon he’ll find his thumb and I can stop running interference.