01-16-15 The Tale of the Stove

Lately I feel like I'm channelling Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window. I spend a lot of time nursing the baby and since we don't have cable yet, I pass the time by staring out the window at the parking lot and houses around me. It's interesting to watch all the activity no matter what time of day or night. Last nights at 4 am a U-Haul pulled up and I watched its occupant wait in the cold for a neighbor to answer the door, only to return to his truck and re-park it and then go back inside. And it seems this neighborhood has no lack of U-Hauls. 

This morning I was getting ready to go when I heard a metallic thud outside. I went to the window to see this...

At the left side of the picture you can see a stove lying in the middle of the road. On the right you can see the U-Haul from which it fell. As you can see, the back of the U-Haul is wide open. I waited a moment to see what would happen and the truck started backing up towards the stove. A woman got out and surveyed the stove. She picked up a few pieces of debris, put them in the truck and backed up even closer. She looked very perplexed. I felt bad for her, so I put on my coat and headed outside to se if I could help, because she was clearly all by herself. 

As I approached I asked her if I could lend a hand and she said, "Yes, thank you! I have no idea how this thing fell off!!" 

I'm guessing it might have had something to do with the fact the U-Haul back was open and she drove over a speed bump, but I held my tongue. As I helped her lift the stove back onto the truck (don't worry, i took the lighter end and i made her do most of the lifting, after all, I'm not that far removed from having a baby) I realized this stove was a junker, covered in grease and gunk and was totally disgusting. We were lifting it into a truck that was filled with trash, broken furniture, etc. We got it precariously right inside the truck. I kept pushing it but there was so much stuff that the stove wouldn't budge. It was sticking a few inches out of the back. She seemed satisfied with that and said it would be secure, but honestly I was pretty skeptical. After all I had proof that her stove packing skills had failed her at least once before, but I smiled and went inside to scrub down my hands and arms of all the grease. 

This evening we had our first dinner guests. In the two years we lived in the farmhouse we never once had people over for dinner. I am looking forward to entertaining more often now that we have a space more prepared for it. 

I'm loving the new kitchen. 

This evening we gave our kids some presents we held over from Christmas. We want to wait until we were in the new house. C got a dollhouse and E got a toolbox. After investigating their own toys they promptly switched toys and started playing.

Before going to bed, I had to assure E that their new toys would still be in their room in the morning. 

01-15-15 The Great Deer Massacre of 2014

We lived in the farmhouse for over two years. And in those two years I only saw the police once. A few months ago I came out my door on a Sunday morning to find a police SUV in my driveway. Now we lived about a quarter mile down a pretty secluded drive. Half our neighbors were in their 90's. What could possibly have brought the police? Apparently someone had been hunting deer and leaving their entire carcasses on our property. Piles of deer. I had just been commenting to Tim that I hadn't seen as many deer this year. I guess that's why. They were all in a pile somewhere in the 15 acres behind my house. 

Well we've been at this house just a few nights and I've already seen the police twice. Apparently we have those neighbors. You know the ones. The kind that the other neighbors only talk about in hushed voices and subtle gestures. They point out each house and describe the occupants, but when they get to that house they move a step closer to you and warn you to steer clear. 

It's been over twelve years since I've lived this close to people. When I left Manhattan I sought out a quiet little corner to hide myself. I loved New York, I truly did, but the events that happened there had shaken me and I wanted a quiet place to regain my footing. I was weary of looking over my shoulder, of being constantly aware of everyone and everything around me. I wanted to feel safe. 

So for the past twelve years I've moved from place to place... Always searching to go unnoticed. A little house with a lot of property was all I ever wanted. And now, here I am sitting in a townhouse two doors down from those people and I am reminded about a sermon I heard once about how Jesus loves the cities because that is where the people are. I know, this isn't NYC, but there are people here, and if you want to make an impact then you need to be around people. So I've traded the comfort of seclusion for the possible discomfort of community and maybe that is why this place already feels like home. 

Happy 10 weeks little fellow!

01-14-15 Settling in

We were greeted this morning with beautiful fat snowflakes drifting past our windows. It seemed like a good day to stay inside and get organized. 

I spent the morning moving boxes to make room for the deluge of boxes that will be coming tomorrow. 

The kids room is starting to come together!

And of course I couldn't resist snapping a few shots of these cuties. This evening C thanked me for moving us into a new house. 

Little E got a present from his Great Grandma, but I think he might have to grow into the hat! Thanks Great Grandma Bernier!! It's adorable!

And finally, since our bed won't fit in our van, and we haven't yet moved the big furniture, T and I had to resort to sleeping on toddler mattresses last night. They aren't that bad if you stay curled up in a ball! Ha! On the bright side, they make our bedroom look huge! Plus the separate, yet parallel beds shout 1950's sitcom!

01-13-15 Home

As we pulled up to the townhouse today, C said, "Mommy, we're home!" Yes, sweet child we are. What an amazing feeling!

Inside this room, my children are fast asleep! 

Besides settling in this evening, we had visitors come to help paint! Thanks to Jenn and Steve for tackling the downstairs! 

01-12-15 Family Dinner

After five long hours, the carpet was finally installed. The Dwarf King looks perfect in our house! It's a pretty wonderful feeling to walk barefoot on brand new carpeting. Most of the painting is done and it is beginning to feel like a brand new house. Our plan is to bring over mattresses and start sleeping there tomorrow night! The next big project is to pack up the farmhouse.

This evening our little family sat around the kitchen table for our first meal of leftover spaghetti and take out Mexican food. Such a perfect moment!

The kids and I spent a good while playing hide and seek and red light, green light upstairs while Tim continued painting. 

They already seem so at home!

The Dwarf King

C & E's room. 

01-11-15 So much painting...

Today we painted and painted and painted! The carpet comes tomorrow so we tried to get as much done as possible. Hopefully tonight's freezing rain won't interfere with the installation.

We are really grateful for our awesome family and friends that have jumped in to help us with painting, carpet removal, carpet staple removal, cleaning, etc. It's been such a huge job and we aren't even done yet!

And I'm pretty sure with all the noise we are making we are sure to be favorites with the neighbors. It's hard to tell now, but our family is usually pretty sedate!

Painting and babysitting at the same time! Uncle Chris has skills!

Master bedroom

Naptime under the dining room table. (It didn't actually work out. They ended up by the stove again. But they did sleep for two hours!)

01-10-15 Naptime

There aren't a lot of options for naptime when the bedrooms are unfinished floors and freshly painted walls, there's a huge pile of old carpeting in the living room, and the noise of busy workers comes echoing down the stairs. But skipping naptime is not an option in our house because hell hath no fury like small children who have missed their naps. So, improvisation is key. Furniture pads and a semi isolated corner will have to do the trick!

Naptime by the stove! They slept two hours in their little corner of the kitchen. 

01-09-15 Progress

We are finally making progress on the new house. The old carpet has been pulled up and is waiting to be hauled away. The kitchen is painted and ready to be lived in. The Dwarf King shows up on Monday. Once that is installed we will start spending the night! I can't wait!!

Huge pile of a carpet!!

Decisions... decisions...

01-08-15 rough parenting day

Today has been a rough parenting day, but in lieu of complaining about my children, here is a picture of my son.

11-07-15 Heart Murmur

Baby E had his 2 month appointment today. It has been a week since he was last seen for his RSV. Last Wednesday he had dropped in weight to 8 lbs. Today he was 8lbs 7oz, putting him in the 3rd percentile. Yup, third. Poor little guy is so small! But the doctor wasn't concerned and actually commented that he is registering ahead developmentally. That was nice to hear! The doctor also noted a slight heart murmur, so we will be making an appointment with a cardiologist just to make sure everything is fine.

In his eight weeks this little fellow has dealt with jaundice, a visit to a hearing specialist, RSV, a stomach bug and now a heart murmur! He has certainly kept us busy! 

01-06-15 Happy Two Months!

This little fellow turned two months old today! 

With my other two children I went right back to work at 8 weeks. I am so grateful to get an extra month  with him!

01-05-15 Reunion

At long last, the children are home! They were gone for six nights. Now that they are back, they seem huge! It is amazing how quickly kids grow. We enjoyed lots of laughing and cuddles this evening. It was so wonderful to have us all under the same roof! 

Progress is being made at the house. Painting starts on Wednesday. I really can't wait! 

We spent some time there this evening while Tim and Davey started pulling up the old carpet. We ate pizza and the kids enjoyed jumping from the stairs. 

01-04-15 Smiles

Weeks I have waited for this and today, at 8 weeks and 3 days there was no mistaking it!

This little fellow is definitely feeling better. He slept 8 hours last night and today he kept handing out these cute little grins!

01-03-15

Things in our house tend to carry names that do not necessarily reflect their purpose or design. The name might have been chosen for its place of origin, or for the way that the children pronounce it. For example, we don't have magazines at our house, we have mazagines. Some adopted names make more sense than others, and some require a rabbit trail to understand. 

To show you what I mean, meet The Dwarf King.

Is there anything more boring than a carpet sample? I say no. Other than the fact it signifies we are getting one step closer to moving into our new house, there is nothing exciting about shopping for carpeting. Nada. Zilch. 

In fact, this particular carpet sample's real name is Oakmont. Boring.

However, when comparing this sample with the 50 kagillion other carpet samples we collected (or maybe 12), I could not remember its name. What kept popping into my head, however, was Oakenshield, which is not the name of a carpet color, but rather the name of leader of a group of dwarves attempting to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug in Tolkien's The Hobbit. He isn't just any dwarf, but the prophesied king under the mountain. The dwarf king. 

Hence, this carpet sample is now called The Dwarf King. See how it went from a boring, dull carpet sample to a protagonist we can root for? Is this the sample we have been waiting for? Will it stand up in battle against all other samples? Will it hold its own through price matches and installation dates? 

Well, today, Tim and I took the Dwarf King on such a journey. We went to multiple carpeting stores and compared it to so many other samples. We checked prices and options and timelines, and in the end the Dwarf King prevailed!!! So, before the end of 7 business days, the Dwarf King will take his rightful seat in our home and secure himself a place within our family lore by bringing us one step closer to moving day. 

That's how things work in our house. That's how we make tedious jobs fun. We look for something to root for. 

On a more boring note, each day brings us closer to everyone feeling better. Baby E had his best day yet and I am begging he lets me sleep tonight, as he so magnanimously allowed me 2 hours last night. I'm beginning to regain my sense of smell and my fever seems to have finally subsided. Things are looking up!

01-02-15

I still can't believe we bought a house!

We were supposed to be moved in by now, but the holidays and the endless parade of illnesses derailed that plan. I've packed a total of 1 box. Yup, ONE. Embarrassing, yes. Did I mention the fever? 

Anyways, today I had to meet the carpet measuring person at the house. Fortunately baby E was feeling pretty good this morning and up for the outing. He slept most of the time we were gone. My sister dropped by for a visit while I was at the house, so it was nice to get some adult interaction! But just to prove how well he was feeling, baby E promptly threw up all over her. *sigh* Baby steps. To make up for it, though, I believe he bestowed on her the first real smile. I'll admit, I'm a bit jealous! I've been waiting for that smile for weeks, and I'm sure I would have gotten it already if he hadn't been so ill. So, I did what any rational person would do and spent the next ten minutes trying to recreate the circumstances that produced that little smile. He looked at me and turned back to her and smiled again. Agh! But finally he gave one to me too. I've been working hard for another one all day, but he's not humoring me! I know, I'm being greedy!

I was happy when T got home cause I'm still running the fever, so I'm not able to cuddle with E like I want to. 

Huh, it kinda looks like he's smiling in this picture! 

Praying for continued healing, and for the two oldest kids who are still visiting their grandparents. We are missing them around here!

01-01-15

How do you bring in the New Year with the flu and a sick baby? Binge watching Netflix, of course. I stumbled upon Grand Hotel a few days ago. It's a Spanish series set in 1905. The thing about watching a Spanish series when you don't actually speak Spanish is that you can't look way because you will miss the subtitles and have no idea what is going on! 

Fortunately I had nowhere to go today, so I basically just stared at the screen all day. A few days ago I got a slight fever. Since my daughter had the flu during Christmas I was pretty sure that's where it was heading for me. My mom offered to come and pick up the two older kids so I wouldn't have to keep up with them AND a sick baby while feeling awful myself. I'm so glad she did cause my temp hit 103.5 last night so I wasn't in good shape. My mom called to let me know Eli was throwing up at her house. And poor T had the stomach bug the night before. As you can tell, our house has been fun the past few weeks! 

On Sunday, little baby E was diagnosed with RSV. It's been a rough ride making sure the coughing hasn't overtaken him. On top of that, he had the stomach bug too. Poor little fellow has had a rough week. Today was the first day that he had quite a few alert spells since he got sick. It was nice to hear him cooing again! Today he turned 8 weeks old. Wow, that happened fast! 

Blessing

Do you ever have days that you just feel sorry for yourself? Well for me, today was one of those days... Which, let's be honest, is pretty ridiculous. I'm pretty sure it all started around food. Seriously, I'm always hungry... ALWAYS. And when I am REALLY hungry, I am also undeniably cranky. Beware the nursing mom who needs a snack! It's like a switch flips in my head and suddenly I am no longer a rational, well thinking human being, but rather a ravenous bloodhound hot on the trail of box of Cheez-its or a s'mores pop tart. (man, are those things tasty!) And this morning, I skipped breakfast... Uh oh! I knew the moment I left the house that this was a bad idea, but I plowed ahead anyways... After all, my four year old's ballet teacher wasn't going to wait for me to make an omelette.

Now the unfortunate beneficiary of my hangry (that's a word, right!?!) outbursts is my husband. In this mind altering state, everything he does drives me crazy! Did he just open that door with an attitude?, or I asked him to change that diaper two minutes ago! Why does my kid still stink?!? , or Why is he driving so slow?! Clearly he doesn't care that I'm about to perish in a most inconvenient manner!!! Poor guy. This is totally not his fault. In my more rational and well fed moments, I know he is devoted husband who treats me with respect and kindness and patience, and most of all, love. He's my best friend and the awesome father of my children. So, after lunch and a two hour nap, I reminded myself of this... I have nothing to feel sorry for myself about... After all, I am unbelievably blessed!

So, now that it is late and I am rocking a gassy baby that is as stiff as a board and won't fall asleep, I figure I have plenty of time to tell one of the many reasons why. 

My husband- He's a pretty amazing guy! He's one of those dads that's on the floor with the kids, wrestling or playing dolls (whichever the situation requires.) He gets up at night when the kids wake up, so I can get a few more minutes of sleep. He really does change a lot of diapers, and most of them quite timely! He washes my daughter's hair because she screams like a banshee when  I try. And if you need someone to be impressed with toddler muscles and substandard drawings of Christmas trees, he's your guy! But more than a good father, he is a great husband. He tells me I'm beautiful when I feel like a frumpy, shabby mess. He sends me I love you texts when he knows I'm sad (or hangry.) He pretends every meal I make is the best one I've ever attempted and even forces himself to eat seconds just to cheer me up. Because he is my cheerleader (in the most masculine sense of the word, of course!) He chooses to see the best in me and forgives my shortcomings long before I've humbled myself to be penitent. He is the love of my life and I don't take the time to tell him this enough. He is my greatest blessing and my truest friend. I love you, Timothy. 

My two year old prince

Someone had a birthday yesterday! As a special present to mommy, he let me rock him to sleep last night. 

The Emperor of Absurdia

Dearest Elijah,

Before you were born, I thought you were going to be a girl. When you arrived the doctor exclaimed, "It's a boy!"  A boy?!? What did I know about boys? I was raised with a girl. Boys were uncharted territory! As I stared at you that first night, with admittedly, a little trepidation, I whispered, "How do I raise a boy?" Your father leaned over to me and softly said, "You love him." 

Little did I expect the fierce love that that would awaken inside me.

I pray for you daily that you will grow to be a man of integrity and honor; that your words will be uplifting and your courage will be unwavering. I pray that you will be strong and intelligent and passionate. 

But mostly, I pray that God will pursue your heart, to the ends of the earth, to the depths of the sea; and that you, in response, will guard your heart from idols and put your trust in the One that has loved you more fiercely than even I am able.  

For you Elijah, are my little prince. 

1. You love trucks, tools, trains and cars. Your sister got a Thomas track set for Christmas and you were heartbroken that we wouldn't let you play with it.

2. Your grandparents got you a big Tonka truck and you love to push it as fast as you can through the house and run into anything immobile. 

3. You call your dad, 'Papa' and your mom, 'My Mommy'

4. Your word for 'Charlotte' and 'Elijah' are exactly the same.

5. You still love to sleep, and yes, you still use a paci at night. 

6. You think it is funny to eat with your eyes closed. 

7. You are the most ticklish person I know.

8. You have had one haircut, just your bangs.

9. You were a blue monster for Halloween.

10. You hate veggies, but you can't get enough of eggs. You also like pancakes, bananas, and avocados. You love 'achacha juice.'

11. During Mater's Tall Tales, you scream when Lightning McQueen gets pushed down the big hill.

12. You have no self-control when you see someone lying on the floor. You MUST sit on them!

Love,

Mommy