Poor Dylan was on his own when Gavin projectile vomited in the truck. If I was a normal person, I could have rushed out of the gym and been home in 10 minutes to help. But nothing is only 10 minutes away from where we live, so he was on his own. I found the carnage in the driveway upon my arrival after Dylan took the power-washer to the carseat and floor mats. The child had been bathed and the carseat cover and other things were running through the sanitary cycle. Luckily, they were only 15 minutes out when the incident occurred, and they turned right around and went back home. But still, 15 minutes is a long time to hear Gavin screaming and howling. (Who wouldn't scream and howl if they had to sit in a pool of their own vomit for that long?) In the words of Dylan, the car vomit is the "most underrated emergency."
And then there was the time that Gavin got sick all over In 'n Out Burger on a Saturday afternoon. I have to say, those In 'n Out employees are really incredible. Everyone was SO nice and gracious about something so disgusting. We were placing our order when it happened. I was holding Graham, so Dylan whisked Gavin to the bathroom in seconds, leaving his card in the chip reader. I straddled the vomit so the other patrons would know to avoid it, while the three (3!) employees garbed up in legit hazmat suits and masks. It was a whole procedure, and they used some white powder material to first cover the barf before proceeding with the next steps. It took FOREVER to clean up, and I would have been more embarrassed, except that I apologized to everyone around me a 1,000 times and everyone was very nice and empathetic. After visiting the restroom to clean myself off a bit, I finished the transaction like everything was totally normal, except that I changed our order to be to-go. We would have never taken a sick kid into a restaurant, except that he wasn't acting sick, for once. He was so excited to get in the car and go somewhere, and he was dying to eat French fries at "the cheese sandwich store" after not eating anything for two days. It was the first time I'd seen him have any energy. And then he went and barfed. Anyway, I collected our food, and Gavin still had a hankering for the fries, so we sat outside and ate instead of driving away with our tails between our legs.
 |
| In 'n Out, thank you for being so nice to my barfy family! |
We cancelled our county fair plans with my parents and with Shawn and Luke on Friday. We cancelled having Jess L. and the boys over to play on Saturday. We cancelled Easter plans with cousins. Gavin stayed home and rested and fell asleep on the couch a couple of times, which is how you know he really does not feel good. Graham recovered after one barf and two days, but as it often seems to go with Gavin, it hit him harder. He's on his fourth day of throwing up, this time in the car with my parents, but it wasn't bad because 1) they were in our car and not theirs, and 2) Gavin finally used the bowl I've made him bring everywhere as a vomit-trough, and he used it successfully!
 |
| Easter morning! Not pictured: Graham. I think he was crying. |
 |
| There he is, and with a smile! |
 |
| Wearing his emesis basin before it had been used for that reason. |
To see this little guy sick again saddens me on a very deep level. He had really turned a corner lately, and his teacher noticed him being much more social and energetic. He would come home and talk about things I've never heard him mention before, like riding trikes on the playground. He'd get so wound up and wild sometimes that I'd think to myself, Calm down kid. But then I'd be so relieved to witness him being a normal, rambunctious 3-year-old. I didn't notice how disconcerting it was to me to have a low-energy child until he wasn't anymore. With this bout of sickness, we've seen a return of that funky rash that brought us into the pediatrician's office a couple months ago, but in a much more localized spot. So, if he doesn't bounce back to being energetic again soon, I might be exploring whether there's something we can do figure out what's going on and to help him feel better.
Gavin felt good for a few minutes this morning. Good enough to go on a half-hearted Easter egg hunt in the backyard. Afterward, in a split-second decision, we sent the boys home with my parents. If any grandmother is fearless enough to take on a sick kid, it would be my mom. Hooray for her! Besides the sickness, we've had a certain 1-year-old that will not allow us to put him down lately. Like he makes a bloody murder scream (a new ability he just discovered!) and rolls around on the tile in any second we are not holding him. And then you pick him up and he's back to smiling and acting goofy. But good ol' Jude is never intimidated by barf or crying, and we were v. happy to get a break.
With our newfound freedom, we decided to go on a bike ride. Even though it was hot, even though we haven't been sleeping good, and even though both of us have been nursing a much milder case of Gavin's illness. We wondered if we'd regret it, but we didn't at all. We actually felt better when our blood got pumping.
My most favorite things to do are to snow ski and mountain bike. I believe I've mentioned that. In the last two years, I've skied one time, and neither Dylan nor I have gotten out on our bikes in a couple of months. With the season for biking quickly coming to a close, we figured this might be our last chance. I know this isn't the phase of life to worry too much about the kinds of activities that I, personally, like to do. Especially when those activities completely exclude small kids. But, still it's important to do these things, I think. I'm not getting any younger, and with time passing more quickly the older I get, it makes me sad to think of all the things I'm not doing lately. I guess I'm the only person that can do anything about that.
BUT MOVING ON...
We did sneak into a house in the Scottsdale Rd and Cholla area before the In 'n Out incident when we thought Gavin was on the mend. And by sneak, I mean we went inside the vacant home under legitimate circumstances. It was a flipped home, staged and ready to sell, and it was super awesome.
The house is on a full acre, so it has a giant backyard that would accommodate our travel trailer and more. Also, it's in the Cocopah/Chaparral school district, as opposed to the whatever/Horizon school district, like many nearby homes. (I'm not that anti-Horizon, but I'm Scottsdale born and raised, so my preference is Chaparral. Even being a Saguaro Sabercat, I'd have to go with the Firebirds over the Huskies on this one. However, the school district thing isn't a deal-breaker or maker for me.) The backyard also has a pool and a waterslide and a ramada, like the ones at the train park. And stuff for horses, which we would remove ASAP. Inside, there is a fabulous wet bar, where we could host our neighbors for a night cap. Since, obviously, we will be doing that all the time. I have big, grand ideas about this sense of community we will be a part of once we live in a neighborhood.
On one end of the house is a fantastic master suite, complete with a fully jetted tub and a GIANT closet. (Who knew you could find a giant closet in a 1960s home??) There are also two other rooms...one an office and the other I don't know. Maybe a craft room or reading room? Or just a room on a lock to which only I know the combination where I can hide out when everyone else is making too much noise?
Apparently walls have been torn down because it has a nice, open floor plan. It also boasts an oversized 3-car garage that is actually the size of a 4-car garage. And THEN, it has two really, really big rooms on the other end of the house. One, perfect for the boys to share. Because even if we buy a 17-bedroom house, the boys will be sharing a room. The other big room has it's own entrance to the outside...a perfect guest room. It is a spacious home with three full bathrooms and perfect in every way...
Except...
Though it was flipped and updated, the materials they chose in the flip were very cheap. I would be sad about having cheap cabinets and cheap countertops and cheap everything. The walls have a fresh coat of paint but a totally 1960s texture. Gross. Not that I'm a total home materials snob, but I am, just a little bit. The kitchen island has a contrasting countertop, which I am all about, but it didn't contrast enough to really work. Plus, it is quartz made to look like marble, and anything that looks fake sucks. Quartz is fine, but just go with white or black. (My preference is white, if you're wondering.) And, the backsplash they chose is that awful white/gray/black pattern on the tiny tiles that was popular like five years ago, but which hurts my eyes every time I see it. I hate that backsplash, and I don't understand how people who invest in flipping homes still find it to be a reasonable choice. (I'm sorry if you have this backsplash in your home.) Hey, people who flip homes listen up! Go with white subway tile in every kitchen and bathroom. ALWAYS. Unless you want to add a special flair, and you really know what you're doing, and it doesn't involve stone. Please and thank you.
Do you even know which ugly backsplash I speak of? It's this one.
 |
| This is a picture of the actual kitchen in the house. Again, I'm sorry for my strong feelings against the backsplash if that is in your home. Please notice the not-quite-contrasting-enough kitchen and island countertops. |
If we bought this house, we'd be totally tapped, and I'd probably pick up an extra day at work and still we couldn't afford to change anything in it. Which is fine. It's completely livable and checks off every box. Huge garage, huge yard to accommodate the RV, a large master closet for me, perfect guest quarters, plenty of space all around, very nice and livable. Also, a waterslide (Gavin's requirement) and wet bar (not a requirement, but fun nonetheless.) I'd have to change out the awful kokopelli sconces on the outside, but I could probably scrounge up some spare change for that.
The other major BUT is...
By the time we're ready to buy a house, somebody will have already bought this one, so this won't be the place we call home. Unfortunately. (I really, really love this house. Like I really do, and I'm deeply sad that we've looked at it and now I can't do anything about it.) It does, however, give me hope that we will find a place to live that is comfortable and that we actually like.
I don't know if it's a bad thing to be checking out homes when we're unprepared to make an offer, but I think it's okay. It's been a really good learning experience. I think if I had waited to check things out until I had the $$$ to put in an offer, then I would have bought something that I regretted. Anyway, are you okay with hearing about this (extremely slow) home selling and buying process? I'm sorry if it's boring, but it is life right now. Tomorrow, the professional organizer comes for five straight hours of dirty work. So, be prepared to hear about that. It should be riveting.
And with that, I have to say that this was a very lengthy and extremely loaded blog post. Sorry not sorry. Back to business as usual!
No comments:
Post a Comment