Continuing the saga of selling and buying a home.

All our main furniture has been moved out of our house and into storage. The stuff we need on a daily basis, like clothes, plus the boys’ bunk beds, has been taken to my mother’s-in-law home. Cowgrit and I spent our first night at the MiL’s house Saturday night, and last night was the boys’ first night here (they spent the weekend with my mom). Our home is completely empty, now (well, 99% empty) — voices echo off the walls and wood floors it’s so empty.

I set up my computer on a small table next to MiL’s desk. Although she says it’s not necessary, I’m trying to avoid infringing on her normal space. I’ve only got my basic computer set up: box, flat monitor, and wireless mouse and keyboard. Cowgrit’s laptop is set up in the den.

Selling our house so quickly, and deciding to build a new house rather than buy one already in existence, isn’t looking so great right now. MiL is being very generous by letting us stay with her between homes, but it’s looking to be pretty stressful for all of us (except maybe the boys who seem to be taking it as an extended vacation).

She’s sharing her house with four more people, we’re living basically out of our suitcases, and the boys are both confused and excited.

At least we’re not truly homeless. We’re just in home limbo. Hombo. We’re homboes.

Bullgrit

My family ordered the Star Trek t-shirt for me. It’s been around two months since they ordered it, and I’ve occasionally thought about it, wondering just how long it was going to take to arrive. Sadly, I received this postcard in the mail:

Thank you for participating in the Kellogg’s™ STAR TREK Tee offer.

This offer has been extremely popular. Unfortunately, we are temporarily out of stock of the STAR TREK Tee. We have reordered and you will receive your order within 90 days of receipt of this card.

If you do not wish to wait for the STAR TREK Tee, please detach and mail the postage-paid card and we will refund your money.

We apologize for the delay and thank you for your patience in this matter.

Kellogg Consumer Affairs

So I’m far from being a rare geek in wanting this shirt. Though I’m disappointed to have not gotten it yet, (it would have been fun to wear one day during our Disney World vacation next month), it’ll make a great Christmas present for me.

And with it being a t-shirt, maybe I can wear it under another shirt during the cold season. I can get my geek on in public places without upsetting the norm sensibilities.

Bullgrit

In our pulling stuff out of the closets to pack everything up for our move, we came across an old magic set that Calfgrit8 got for his birthday a couple years ago. He played with it a lot for a few months after he got it, but then somehow it got lost in the closet and we hadn’t seen it in probably a year.

When we pulled it out this time, Calfgrit4 was interested in it. His interest was mostly just in the props as funny things to play with. But there was one item that intrigued him the most: a box with a sliding drawer, in which something put could be made to disappear.

He put a red ball into the drawer, and with me holding the box, and him holding the magician’s wand, we could make the ball disappear from the drawer. I taught him “hocus pocus” to make the ball disappear, and “pocus hocus” to make it reappear.

This magic amazed and excited him. He took the box and wand, and ran to the back of the house to show Calfgrit8. “Daddy taught me magic words,” he explained.

But when he opened the box, the ball hadn’t disappeared. “It worked when I did it with Daddy,” he said, disappointed.

He ran back to me and we tried the magic words again. “Tada!” I said when it worked. We made the ball disappear and reappear a few more times until he apparently was satisfied that the magic words did, indeed, work. Then he got distracted with something else and the box was forgotten for the rest of the day.

Cowgrit and I looked at each and smiled large when he went to the other room. “That’s so damn cute,” I said, “he believes it’s magic.”

This period of belief is so fleeting.

Bullgrit

This past weekend, I had to take down the play set in our backyard (for our upcoming move). Calfgrit4 wanted to help me, and that worried me. Usually when either of the boys “help” me, any task takes twice as long to accomplish. And since I figured this big project would take a few hours by myself, I feared it would take all freakin’ day with little hands “helping.”

As it turned out out, it took about 6 hours to completely take apart and remove, but CG4 was actually good help and didn’t hold me up at all. As I removed screws and bolts from the set, he collected them and took them over to the outdoor table on the patio. He even kept them separated by type.

Sometimes he was right there waiting for the pieces as I removed them, and so would take three or four at a time and then come right back. Sometimes he got distracted or played a few minutes before coming back, and then he collected dozen at a time. But he never left me waiting with a lot of stuff in my way.

He was attentive and happy to be working with me. And I was happy to have him with me. Not only was it just fun having my 4-year-old son hanging out with me all day, but his dealing with the screws and bolts like he was saved me the effort and trouble of having to climb down and take the stuff to the side, myself.

We took a break at midday to go inside for lunch and a nap (it was 95 degrees at noon). He didn’t want me going back out to work until he woke up, so I got a little nap of my own. When he woke up, the first thing he said to Cowgrit was, “I need to go help Dad finish taking the play set down.” We went back out together and finished the project.

Calfgrit8 was sick over the weekend with strep throat, so he stayed inside. For a while he was in my and Cowgrit’s bed with the big window blinds open so he could watch us working. CG4 would occasionally wave at the window. We couldn’t see CG8 through the glass because of the bright sun, but CG4 still waved blindly and happily.

Man, I’ve got some wonderful sons. (Except when they drop my cell phone into their water cup.)

Bullgrit