March 4 09

lasagna night is my absolute favorite. not because i’m all that into lasagna, especially since it may be a slight misnomer at our house…noodles, sauce, mozzarella and cottage cheese does hardly a lasagna make. but this, friends, is how i get my son to eat carbs. He’s a meat man. he can eat several POUNDS of wings at a time, and can outeat his father when it comes to steak, or chicken, or meat. but dammit, i can’t get my son to eat bread. or pasta. or rice. there’s a reason that he’s six and weighs 34 pounds, friends. i wish he would teach me his ways (oh wait, he can, it’s called the Atkins Diet) but, regardless. this is the way they like it, so i allow it, because ohmigodmysoniseatingpasta!

but this is NOT why it’s my favorite.

it’s because of the way Miss Isabella says the word.

Pagina.

she wants to eat pagina.

it’ll never get old for me. well, until she learns to say it properly and then i’ll cry and be all “What in the sam hell happened to my baby?!?!” but that’s a sob story for another time.

last night, however, was a shitty night to make lasagna. I’ve been sick…with legitimate sickness and with the added sickness that comes when i get nervous (HELLO, I’M MOVING TO ATLANTA IN 5 MONTHS!)(HELLO! I’M MAKING A SLEEPOVER BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR 12 GIRLS ON SATURDAY NIGHT! HELLO, MY BRAIN IS FRIED AT WORK AND I NEED SOME SERIOUS INSPIRATION!)…so my brain wasn’t thinking that people were coming over to see the house. why didn’t i just take them for pizza or something (oh, yes, because my son would only eat the cheese)?!?!

and seriously…showing the house you’ve lived in for the last 7 years to complete strangers is tough, man. tough. way tougher than i’d thought. as i walked through the house (it’s so clean right now even i would lick off the floors) and tried to hide of cover up those marks and spots and parts of the house that are less than pretty, it hit me. this is the spot where Josh took his first steps straight into the wall and took the paint off with his face. this is the piece of wall that broke off that time i tried to hop the baby gate and both of us (the gate and yours truly) came crashing down. this is the ugly green carpet that we never got around to replacing. this is the spot on the wall where Isabella made us a Sharpie masterpiece. this is the spot on the wall where Emily made us a Sharpie masterpiece. and this is the spot on the walle where Josh made us a Sharpie masterpiece and tried to pawn it off on his sisters (only, we know. since he’d written his own name) these places…these spots…these things that potential buyers will look at and say…”once we move in, Frank, a good coat of paint and some new carpet will cover this right up!” are memories to me. MY MEMORIES.

and while i’m so excited to move on to the next stage of our lives and to make pagina and new memories in my parents’ house and then in a brand-new house, it’ll be hard to leave these ones behind. for some other family to come in and cover up.

(i truly, truly, truly will NOT miss the green carpet, though…no matter how many memories i’ve made in that room…)

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  1. I only have a pale understanding of what you’re going through. I’ve become very nostalgic getting my boyfriend’s house ready to sell, even though he was there only three years and I never lived there.

    If it gets too hard, just focus on the great memories you’re going to be making in new houses.

    Comment by tutugirl1345 on March 4, 2009
  2. That has got to be hard. Hang tough, you will get through it!

    Just remember, your memories will always be with you, no matter what wall the kids are making sharpie masterpieces on.

    Comment by WickedStepMom on March 4, 2009
  3. I can’t imagine…

    having a sleepover for 12. You brave soul. Hang in there. 5 months will fly by and then you will be back in the States. Are you planning on going to blogher again?

    Comment by OHmommy on March 4, 2009
  4. I know what you mean. I’ve been in my house for nearly 20 years and I have to sell it soon… if the market ever gets better. In August, I’ll be living here by myself and it’s a 4 bedroom house!
    So many memories! I’ve moved a few other times but this one’s gonna be tough.
    You’ll get through this, and you have terrific memories too!

    Joanies last blog post..My Very First Totally Awkward Tuesday!

    Comment by Joanie on March 4, 2009
  5. I TOTALLY understand where you are coming from. But I give you a lot of credit for this–it’s going to be an amazing experience for your family. You’ll always have the memories from your current home, and with this new adventure will most certainly make many more.

    Comment by NEWMOM on March 4, 2009
  6. Hard eh! Sigh. Thankfully you have lots of photos and videos. A house is not a home right. Or so they say. Home is where you and your family are.

    My son is the complete opposite of yours. He is 7 years old, weight 82 pounds (he is 4’6″ already) and he eats carbs like they are doing out of style. It pains me.

    Comment by Chantal on March 4, 2009
  7. ah its going to be a bit tough but you do have lots of vids and photos and that’ll help. But yeah, the strangers walking around talking about what they’re going to do, ugh, not fun at all.
    But you’re going on a grand adventure! It’ll all be worth it.

    monstergirlees last blog post..Sometimes I like a little blurry

    Comment by monstergirlee on March 4, 2009
  8. i cried when we painted over my son’s height chart we had marked on the wall.

    i took a pic of it first though & put all the stats down in the new house.

    just mes last blog post..end of an era

    Comment by just me on March 4, 2009
  9. okay, now you’ve got me crying even though we’ve been in this house for only 6 years, will not be moving anytime soon, and have a removable height chart. πŸ™‚
    I’m glad you’ve taken lots of pictures and documented many of your memories here.
    Your future is so exciting, and here’s to making new memories. πŸ™‚

    Yeah, my 6yo son is a carnivore too. He will eat bread, rice and pasta under duress. Fruits and vegetables are merely decoration to him. I feel for you. Truly.

    Comment by Nenette on March 4, 2009
  10. I do not miss the pink carpet in the house where I used to live. Seriously. WAY pink.

    I do still have random flashbacks nearly 12 years later of carrying my newborn son through the house the first day I brought him home and tried to figure what this life was all about. That kid won’t eat meat, either, btw. He also won’t eat pasta, though. He messed me up then, he’s still messing me up now!

    Comment by fadkog on March 4, 2009
  11. I think when you get to your new place, you should hand the kids each a sharpie. CREATE ANEW, CHILDREN! (Or maybe not.)

    Mooses last blog post..Seth Rogan Thinks YouÒ€ℒre a Unique Snowflake Too

    Comment by Moose on March 4, 2009
  12. That is some green carpet. It’s like a pool table on the floor.

    Comment by Captain Dumbass on March 4, 2009
  13. Ali are you brave or just crazy? a sleepover with 12 girls?!..it is hard to move on because of memories but you will make new ones….

    Comment by LAVENDULA on March 4, 2009
  14. I couldn’t even look at the green carpet in the video, I was too busy staring at the BEAUTIFUL BABY.

    Comment by Karly on March 4, 2009
  15. Awww, but the outcome is you’ll be in ATLANTA with your dad, Doris and Roxee!!!!

    Comment by Camels & Chocolate on March 4, 2009
  16. Aw, so bittersweet, hey? We’ve been in this house since before the kids came and if we ever leave it will be BEYOND hard. Sigh.

    Hugs.

    Comment by Angella on March 4, 2009
  17. pagina. now that’s cute as heck. i hear what you’re saying re: the memories but then again, thats what photos are for right?

    rainos last blog post..Scaramouche,scaramouche will you do the fandango..

    Comment by raino on March 4, 2009
  18. I’ve lived in 3 houses since I started having kids…2 years ago, we bought my childhood home from my parents and I could never give it up! Ever!
    Good Luck with everything on your very full plate!

    Comment by Peggy on March 4, 2009
  19. You’ve articulated exactly why I am scared to move. My parents still live in the same house they brought me home from the hospital in. Since then I’ve lived in a bunch of places (mostly in university for co-op), but we’ve been in our house now for over five years. I don’t know how I’ll move out.

    Comment by SciFi Dad on March 4, 2009
  20. I can only begin to imagine how difficult it will be, but a great fun adventure at the same time! I envy you in some ways and in other ways, I’m glad we can’t afford to move out of our little house. As much as I would love to live in a bigger house one day, this was our first home, it would be very hard to leave!

    Comment by Multi-Tasking Mommy on March 4, 2009
  21. Oh yes…, the green carpet. I will miss it! And now, “eating pagina” will NEVER get old! That is so classic!

    Comment by Haley-O on March 4, 2009
  22. PAH-gina… oh yah, I’m gonna be saying that in my head for days now.

    And I’d be too weepy to function because (believe it or not) I get that way about this stinky apartment. This is where we brought G home and all the firsts. But don’t get me wrong, I want a home, it just makes me verklempt when I think of moving.

    Comment by katie ~ motherbumper on March 4, 2009
  23. You use cottage cheese for lasagna too? Let’s be friends!

    And yeah, that carpet is awful.

    Comment by slynnro on March 4, 2009
  24. i totally know how you feel!!…as for my children’s legacy, when packing up daniella’s closet, i noticed that daniella and yitzy had written their names on the back of the door. since daniella’s closet doors slid open, it is likely that no one would even notice the personalization. i took a picture. πŸ™‚

    Comment by adrienne on March 4, 2009
  25. My son will be seven in May and weighs 38 pounds. So glad to know there’s another peanut out there!

    Now, I want chicken wings or pagina. This post made me hungry. Also, it made me TOTALLY not envy all the stuff you have going on. Good gravy, woman!

    Comment by Momo Fali on March 4, 2009
  26. I’m sorry. Did you say TWELVE CHILDREN?

    Dude.

    Do you want to come over on Saturday night? I’m just a quick…plane ride away! πŸ™‚

    Comment by metalia on March 4, 2009
  27. I know what that is like. I left for freshman year of college, 2000 miles from home, and then my mom up and SOLD THE HOUSE while I was still at school. And they didn’t tell me until the day they were moving. I am still mad. I never got to save what I wanted from my room. It all went into the trash.

    Kristabellas last blog post..Flying the Friendly Skies

    Comment by Kristabella on March 9, 2009
  28. Heh – totally disregard my comment on your moving post, since this just answered it.

    It’s funny – we moved a year ago but we were so busy with the preparation and the move itself, that I’ve only realized in the last few months that I’ll never see the place that I brought my baby home to again, and its making me sadder than I expected. I can’t imagine going through it with the memories of three children x 7 years!

    Comment by b*babbler on March 9, 2009
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