Home sweet Hotel.

I feel like a gypsy.  We left our house last Wednesday and stayed the night up in Shingletown, Thursday we checked into the a hotel here in town, Saturday we left for Fresno, and stayed in a hotel there Saturday night.  My dad was elected Commander of the Department of California for the American Legion.  We are all very proud of him, and know he is the perfect guy for the job!  Here we are at the Department convention in Fresno on Sunday-

We checked into a different hotel back in Woodland when we returned Sunday (the original hotel didn't have a pool!), then Monday night we had to move hotel rooms because the AC went out.  We are all settled in a new room now, with a bigger fridge... and Lilah is loving the pool.

It's been an adventure to say the least-  and I'm learning just how "minimalistically" (is that a word?  I don't care...) I can live.  I keep thinking of things I want to grab from the house- and then talking myself out of it.  

Trying to tell myself "it'll just be a few more days, you don't need it." 

 and "that's just more stuff to pack up when it's time to go home." 

Realistically though if I was able to go to the house I'd probably just go get all these things I think of!  I've been given strict orders to stay out though- and Andrew "lost" ( I'm thinking it was on purpose) my house key so I can't even sneak over there!

As of today they are still doing asbestos removal- it should be done today.  Then they need to retest and get clearance, then the water damage team can finish the dry out- THEN we can talk about reconstructing.  I feel like we have awhile still before we get to go home.  We were hoping to go home this weekend, but the asbestos team has taken longer than expected, and until at least the walls are rebuilt we need to stay in the hotel.  Missing walls in 110 degree weather isn't going to work for me.  

I am however, getting nervous about returning home the longer this takes!  I figured we'd be home days ago, and I could get everything unpacked and cleaned before Eleanor makes her arrival.  Now I am beginning to think I will be bringing Eleanor home to the Holiday Inn, and she will be there to help me unpack and clean once the time finally comes.  

Ok, let's get to the real stuff.  I've eaten like crap, and missed a few workouts.  I am tired, our schedules are a wreck, I can't cook, it's freaking hot, and I'm going to have this baby any day I think. There ya go, my list of excuses!  I'm TRYING to do my best- I've gotten Nugget's salad bar instead of McDonald's, I've had apples and whole wheat tortillas with PB for dinner instead of Taco Bell.... but I've also had shakes from Sonic, and M&Ms.  It's stress eating, it's comfort food, it's convenience, and maybe 5% pregnancy cravings.   I'm really trying to get my workouts in though.  I've made it to a few classes at the gym, went for a good walk with Marie in Shingletown, I even did Zumba twice... I hate Zumba- but it's what was available when I had the free time so I did it.  This morning I went and walked around target for about 40 minutes- got in 4000 steps!  Tonight I will go to Ultimate conditioning at the gym.  I went to it last night as well.  Monday I even got ALL green!  I was pretty proud of myself!  Almost did it yesterday, but I slept in so I didn't get my hourly activity at 7:00 am.

I need to start thinking about what I want to do after the baby is born  I want to do something new and fun, some sort of program that will give me motivation and accountability.  I know what I need to do, I know how to work out, I know what foods to eat, but I work harder for other people- instructors, coaches, etc- so I want a program.  Any suggestions??

Oh- Baby update.... I am 11 days from my due date.  I've had some contractiony type feelings but I think they are more braxton hicks that real contractions.  Having some mild back pain today, but that's really about it so far.  Check up Friday morning.

Ladies and Gentleman, Children of All ages....

Welcome to the best show in town.......

My house is officially a circus, and I don't even get to be the ringmaster.

I'm just shy of 38 weeks pregnant....last week I put the finishing touches on the girls' room, baby clothes washed, diapers stocked, bags packed.  My nesting continued to the rest of the house- wash the walls, steam clean all carpets, "Hunny how much work is it to replace the shower stall?" was even in there at some point. But on my terms.... my schedule... in my control.  If you know me, you know that's how I operate,  I have to have a plan, and I can't feel like things are out of my control.

Well, God's a funny guy when it comes to that. He only lets me get away with it for so long before reminding me that I am NOT always able to be in control.

Friday evening I noticed some small water spots on the kitchen floor- I assumed they were from the dogs bowl, or that Lilah had a leaky cup.  Then a short while later I saw more water.... what the heck.  Then I noticed as I walked my feet were getting wet, I looked down and pressed on the floor with my toes and watched as the water seeped up between the flooring.  Shit. Ari came home shortly after, we figured the ice maker was leaking, he pulled the fridge out, checked the hose, everything looked fine.  So he checked the other end under the sink- no problem there either, checked the drains for the washing machine on the other side of the wall- nope, not that.  So he decided he would call the warranty company.  We called them Saturday, they couldn't send anyone until Sunday.  So we waited around all day Sunday- the guy finally showed up around 7:30 at night.  he searched around just like Ari did, and didn't find anything.  Cut a hole in the wall to test inside there, still nothing, then they pulled the stove out, and right behind that and the cabinets was a steady stream of water coming from a cracked hose. Great.

So we've been without water to the kitchen since Sunday night.  Called our insurance Monday morning and filled them in- I figured they'd send someone out to give us an estimate, we'd replace some flooring, collect a check, and have a baby.  WRONG.   Obviously I've never done this before.  They send out Coit, a damage and restoration team, who took pictures, measurements, did leak tesst, moisture tests, asked a bunch of questions, yelled a lot in Russian, let the dog out, let the flies in, and barely spoke English.  They were here until 8:00 last night, and finally when they left, my floor was gone as well, the kitchen was barricaded off with plastic tarps, and 7 HOT and LOUD fans were placed to start the "Dry Out".

They informed me they would return Today, along with the Asbestos and Lead testing company- around 9:30 am.  

As we know I am trying to follow the Fit Girl 28 day program.  I had gotten some food prep done Monday morning before the chaos ensued, but not much.I got the lasagna done which is dinner days 1,3,5 and 7. It's supposed to be Pumpkin Lasagna Rolls, but that sounds weird to me... so it said you could sub other veggies- I chose zucchini and spinach instead.  Also since there's two of us I decided just to make a regular pan lasagna instead of rolls.  I took the recipe and multiplied everything by 8 to make 8 servings.

 Hopefully we can eat it tonight so I can report back on how it turned out.

 Unfortunately that was as far as I got, then I wasn't able to access the kitchen the rest of the day.  So I got up early today and figured I would make stuff ahead of time for the day and place it in the fridge in the garage so we could get to it as we needed it.  Well, I got as far as getting breakfast handled for everyone and the doorbell rang.  At 8:00 am.... surprise.... they were here early, and They got right to work so my plan was shot.  They needed access to the crawl space- which is in my room, in the closet- sure let me just clear my bazillion pairs of shoes, out of the way real quick.  Then the asbestos guys shows up, more questions, more access needs, then the manager from coit arrives... it's literally beginning to feel like LAX in my house at this point, people everywhere, hustling around, phones ringing, Russians yelling, the dogs running around crashing into things with her cone, Lilah is scared of the men in paper suits (they had to wear them to access the crawl space), it's literally a circus.  

Everyone finally cleared out around 12:00.  Gone for the day, hurray.  They left behind the HOT and LOUD dryers, and my kitchen is still closed off, but at least I have my bedroom back, and don't have 6 strangers in my house.  As of right now they are saying the wall between the kitchen and the garage needs to come down, and the cabinets need to come out, but they can't start any of that until the asbestos testing come's back.  So right now we wait.  I am rushing through laundry like a mad women since I won't be able to use my machines after tomorrow... I considered finishing my meal prep- but I won't be able to get to any of it so I don't know what good it will do.  I'm honestly at the point right now where I feel so overwhelmed that instead of doing something I'll just do nothing because I don't even know where to start.  I could pack the kitchen up- they didn't say to- but if they are taking cabinets out I imagine it needs to be done?  Should I let them do it, or should I?  Should I pack the fridge up and put everything in the one outside?  Or will they just move the whole fridge to the garage for me?  I should at least clean it out, half the food will be spoiled by the time I have my kitchen back. See what I mean- too much to think about.

So that's my reality right now.  So much for the 28 day meal plan..... looks like I'll have to give that another go once this is all done and over with.  In the meantime I am really going to try not to just say screw it and go back to eating crap- I am going to try and at least make good choices with whats available to me.  Like last night we had to go out to eat, and I had a large garden salad, I wanted a Burger and fries- comfort food- but I convinced myself to make a better decision.  I did make it to the gym last night in spite of everything else.  So at least there is that.  

Wish me luck as this continues to unfold.  Pray for my sanity please.....and the safety of these workers- it's a crap shoot whether or not I'm going to have a breakdown.