01-21-15 Grandmothers

There are few things more wonderful than watching a grandmother enjoy her grand kids. I have been very fortunate to have my parents living relatively close by (less than two hours) and my mother has been indispensable during my maternity leave. Shortly after having the baby she came and helped me for several weeks, cooking meals, changing diapers, burping the baby. (I have nicknamed her the Burpinator because no one can get a baby to burp better than my mother!) We stayed with them for a week in early December and then around Christmas. And when I came down with the flu and baby E was so sick she took the older two for a week to let me recover and focus on the baby. She has also spent countless hours helping us paint the townhouse and pack up and move out of the farmhouse. Through it all she has been such a blessing. She is industrius and focused, great with the kids and I truly enjoy her company! 

Today she took a short break from the busyness of packing to spend some quiet moments with her youngest grandson.

What a beautiful pair! I love you mom!!

One of the few things I will miss about the farmhouse is the yard. We have enjoyed the privacy and seclusion of fifteen acres, far from busy roads and other people. I loved opening the back door and letting the kids out to play. I imagined them spending their youth exploring the woods and ravines around the house. 

My favorite memories from that house are from the yard. We had a huge hill near the house and two bright red crazy coupes. We would put one kid in each crazy coupe and push them off down the hill, letting them race to the bottom. Of the hundreds of times we did that, they only overturned once! It also made an amazing sledding hill. I loved having a garden and working in it and looking over to see C digging at the patch of dirt we had dug up and planted with flowers so she could have a garden of her own. These things remind me of my own childhood. 

But now we start a new adventure. Their childhood won't look like mine, but that's not a bad thing, just different! 

01-20-15 Wrestling

I've been warning C for awhile now that her little brother won't be smaller than her for much longer! They are 18 months apart, but she only outweighs him by about two pounds. 

01-19-15 The Box

There is a box that follows us every time we move. Between moves I completely forget about its existence, but halfway through packing I always stumble upon it. The top of the box is usually filled with non descript office supplies, and as I dig deeper into the box, voila, I find them. It's my box of newspapers and magazines that people saved for me after 9/11. 

Yesterday in Sunday school we talked about Abraham and someone brought up the point that when God made covenants with Abraham He had him build an altar. That way when he would pass by that area again, he would see the altar and remember. In our culture, we don't build altars, we keep mementos. There's a booming tacky tourist industry to prove just that. Take a trip? Buy a keychain. 

Well, I think this box is one of my altars. 

Each time I find it I think, "this time I'm going to throw it out." But I never do. I open the box and the newspapers are a little more yellow, the magazines seem a little more dated. I'm reminded that time has trudged on like it is prone to do; that one day, more of my life will be after than before. And then I'm reminded that my greatest blessings have come in the last thirteen years- my husband and three children. 

With each move, He takes this opportunity to get my attention. To make me pause and remember where I was and where He has brought me. To remind me of His faithfulness. To whisper once again, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So for now, the box comes with us. 

01-18-15 A Three Ibuprofen Night

You know that terrifying feeling when you realize you are falling and there is nothing you can do to stop it. All of a sudden everything is in slow motion and sped up at the same time. A million thoughts race through your head that all lead to the same conclusion... This is gonna hurt!

That was me this evening when I stepped on a sheet of black ice. One moment I was standing talking to Tim and the next I was in a free fall. I went straight down and landed in a sitting position, the impact jarring through my limbs. Grateful that it wasn't worse I stood up on shaky legs and regained my footing, convinced I was no worse for wear. 

Fast forward ten minutes later. That's when the pain and stiffness started to set in. Holding a crying baby and having two whimpering toddlers hanging on me wasn't helping my situation. They are all finally asleep and I'm sitting at my dining room table afraid to make any sudden movements! So tonight I will be downing at least three ibuprofen with a salted hot chocolate chaser. 

We spent the better part of our day at the farmhouse continuing the great purge. I had placed a ton of items on freecycle so today people started coming. It was great to see so many items leaving the house knowing I wouldn't have to find a way to transfer them to the new house or find a place to put them once they arrived. We are hoping to be finished within a few days. 

The kids did great today. Baby E had a lot of wakeful time and graced us with many smiles and coos. 

And the older kids were very patient while we packed and met with people. Fortunately most of the old toys disappeared while they were napping! We had one meltdown when C witnessed me giving away one of her toys. In her mind I was giving away her absolute favorite toy and she was going to miss it terribly. Never mind that she hadn't touched it in months and had all but forgotten that it existed. Sigh. There are still way more toys than necessary that will find their way here. 

01-17-15 Why did the turtle cross the road?

C's new favorite hobby is telling jokes. Most of them she makes up and very few of them actually make sense. You know, jokes like "What did the one bird say to the other bird? Nothing he just made a sandwich." At which point she bursts into laughter. E has two jokes which he puts into rotation and each time he tells them it's like the first time he's ever said them. He gets very upset if C tries to steal this thunder and answers his joke. 

Every once in a while C will actually come up with a joke that makes me really laugh. My current favorite is "Why did the turtle cross the road? He didn't! He was too slow and now he's flat!"

Saturdays are ballet days. C has been taking ballet lessons since September. Every Saturday morning is a battle to get her ready as she complains she doesn't want to go, and we finally get her into her leotard and wrangle her hair into the best bun I can muster. By the time we get to ballet class (late) she can't wait to go in. When she comes out of class she is beaming! Today she told me she wants to be a ballet teacher when she grows up. That's better than her choice yesterday, which was to work in a waffle factory. And that choice was better than E who wants to be a horse. 

Daddy had ballet duty this morning, so he took the older ones so I could finally grab a much needed shower. While they were gone I had some surprise, but never unwelcome, visitors! 

It's wonderful living three doors down from family! I got to spend some time with these little cuties while  their mom ran an errand. And this evening, the kids and I had dinner with my sister-in-law because our husbands went to a movie. It sure beats staying at home by ourselves! :)

I spent the afternoon at the farmhouse making preparations for people to come pick up stuff we are trying to get rid of. This is our opportunity to finally purge all the stuff that has followed us from house to house. It is such a liberating feeling to get rid of everything and start fresh! There is still a lot to do, but we are making progress! I took the decorations off the Christmas tree and hauled it outside. (It was so much lighter than the stove, that's for sure!) Then I got to visit with my 92 year old landlord. He's one of the kindest men I have ever met and it has been a blessing to know him.

 

E loves his new dinosaur. It eats all of his other toys. 

Baby E is starting to interact a lot more!

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!