Sandy, You Inconsiderate Bitch.

Way back in 2009, I house crashed the sweet little shore house my parents rented from my Great Aunt Ola.  It is a duplex, with my parents on the lower floor and my great aunt, her daughter, and her daughter's kids and grandkids coming and going through out the summer.  It wasn't much, just a two bedroom apartment that my parents spent their retirement enjoying during the summer.

And then Superstorm Sandy hit the New Jersey coast.  

Working in the broadcasting business, I saw homes completely washed away from their foundations.  I feared for the fate of our cozy shore cottage when I heard that Long Beach Island was one of the hardest hit areas.  When my Aunt Becky was finally allowed on the island to assess the damage, they discovered the whole first floor had flooded and the water line was about three feet high.  

Although I know we are very lucky to have sustained minimal damage, I was still upset the entire first floor had to be gutted- the only things that were saved was the refrigerator, stove, and living room furniture.  All the other furniture, cabinets, walls, flooring, appliances, linens and special keepsakes had to be thrown out. 

The once cozy living room went from this 

to this:

Both bedrooms were gutted

...as well as the kitchen and bathroom.

standing in the kitchen and looking into the living room/ front of the house.

As I mentioned before, the entire kitchen and the original cabinets had to be ripped out

before circa 2009

after June 2013

For a couple of months we weren't sure if we would be able to use the house at all this summer, but then my cousin teased us with pictures on Facebook of drywall

and floors..

..and the greatest tease of all, a brand new kitchen

ERMERGERD, I love this kitchen layout.  Look at all that storage!

Now that most of the work is done, my mom can start scouring yard sales and Craigslist for furniture to replace all that was lost.  Or as I like to call it "the fun part!"

Fingers crossed I'll be able to house crash before the summer is over!

Always & Forever,

  ME

Rookies

Hey guys!  It's been quiet around the halls of Lizzie In Progress because, honestly, I've just been kickin' back and enjoying the summer.  We went to a beautiful wedding in May (hopefully I'll get it on the blog soon) and we've got another one coming up this weekend!  Also you guys, tomorrow is our third anniversary!  Holy hell!  No big plans to celebrate-  no traditional gifts of leather, crystal or pearls here--just dinner at a local Italian place, and we are staying an extra night away for the wedding then we normally would.  

But what I really wanted to tell you about is something that happened this past weekend.  On Sunday JEGs and I took the monster to Target to fill a couple prescriptions and to buy Hunter a potty.  In order to get him excited about the potty, we told him we were buying him a new toy.  So we head over to Target, and surprise surprise, the shittastic Target in the Metroplex doesn't have the toilet we were looking for.  Honestly, I shouldn't be surprised.  This Target has burned me before.  

Anyway,  now we have promised Hunter a toy, and if nothing else, this kid remembers stuff like this.  So we meander over to the toy aisle and find a little $6 helicopter for him. As we are leaving the aisle he starts yelling "BYE BYE TRUCK!  BYE BYE TRUCK!" and by the time we are in the clothing department, he is in hysterics.  JEGs shows him the helicopter we picked out and he says he doesn't want it.  He wants truck.  So JEGs goes back to the aisle and swaps it out for the little police car that came in the set.  He doesn't want that.  So we take him back into the aisle and ask him to point out what he wants.  This is what we came home with:  

A fifteen dollar fire rescue truck with lights and sirens.  Very LOUD lights and sirens.  

...and we still didn't get a potty.

As we were driving home, JEGs looked and me and said, "You realize we made a rookie parenting move by letting him cry his way into getting a bigger toy, right?"

I make no bones that I am a sucker for that little boy.

But to be fair, we don't buy him toys that often.  The last toy we bought him was to replace a broken toy he got at Christmas-- which is probably when he got most of the stuff he has now.  

So if a gargantuan truck keeps my little dude happy (and keeps me from having to watch Cars 2 1500 times today), then I will just take it.  And stock up on some Advil.

..but not from Target.  They'll probably be out.

Always & Forever, 

  ME

Hunter 21 months

Lawdy folks.. I think we are hitting the dreaded Terrible Twos already.  This child know what he wants to do and he is going to do it by himself, whether I want him to or not.  When I was a toddler, my mom says she knew I had an independent streak early because I would insist that I didn't need help.  I would say in a very stern voice " I DO IT MYSELF".  Hunter definitely has my strong will and hot Irish temper.

I am pretty sure my mom is chuckling to herself.

He got to log some quality time with his godmother, Aunt Tara, at the beginning of the month.

Don't let the side-eye fool you.  He adores her.

His eczema has gotten much worse;  it covers his hands, feet, arms, legs and occasionally patches crop up on his face and torso.  We have an appointment with the dermotologist this up coming week and I swear it can't come soon enough.  Trying to do the simplest things like wash his hands or even just hold his hands makes him cry in pain.  It breaks my heart.

All of his teachers at daycare mention how great he is with words.  I mean, he's not Henry Higgins' star pupil, but you get the idea of what he is trying to say.  He is also starting to be able to put together small sentences:  yeah I did.  where mommy go.  mailmans truck.

He loves to grab a cell phone or anything that looks like a cellphone- like a remote- and have "conversations".  When you ask him with whom is he talking, the answer is usually Mem (my mom) or Pop Pop (JEGs' dad).

Let's be honest.. this kid is a gangsta and just a general bad ass..

yeah I'm drinking my cuppy.  What of it?

..he didn't choose the bub life, the bub life chose him.  

Bubs,

  I know I say this every month, but every day you continue to bring us so much love and joy.  I miss you when I am at work, and I can't wait to see your adorable grin again.  Your hugs are probably the most medicinal things on this planet.  I love you so much.

Love,

  Mommy